No Boundaries
by sewardsfolly
Summary: AU starts off like ROTS but Anakin doesn't turn to the dark side. Padme has to tell Ani she's pregnant how he deals with this, also how they begin to get discovered,and AU war situation. SEQUEL NOW UP: 'Attachment'
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I didn't make up Star Wars, or these characters. I think we all know that. Ok, let's continue.

**No Boundaries**

Anakin was finally home. Padme couldn't believe it. She was so happy, and yet terrified about what she had to tell him. She didn't know how he would react to her pregnancy- she herself had not exactly been thrilled about it. They wouldn't be able to keep their marriage secret for much longer with a baby on the way.

No, she thought. I must let Anakin keep his secret. I can't tell anyone who the father is. This worried her too, for she certainly wouldn't be allowed to continue serving on the senate.

When she had found out, she had cried all day. She felt so stupid for it- she loved Anakin, and as a normal young married couple she knew they'd be overjoyed. But this child was disastrous to the careers of a senator and a Jedi. No Jedi had ever had a child before, and the council, if they found out, would surely expel Anakin from the order.

And despite all of that, when she simply considered herself, about to have a baby, she was scared. She felt so young- she hadn't planned to have children at least until her late twenties, and not in this sort of situation. She knew it was stupid, but she felt almost like she was just some teenager who got pregnant. She kept having to reassure herself that she was a successful adult, a senator, and was married. But she was very young, and even younger was her husband, Anakin. She knew that he loved her more than anything, and she would give up anything for him, but she didn't know how a baby would fit into his heroic life.

Both Anakin and Padme already felt that they didn't spend enough time together. They missed each other desperately, and long distance holo conversations were just not enough.

Bail Organa approached Padme and brought her back to reality.

"Anakin and Obi Wan have landed on Coruscant! Both are safe- I thought you would like to know. Their transport will be here any minute."

"Thank you, that is good news." She managed a small smile at Bail, and he put his arm on her shoulder as they walked through the great hall to meet the Jedi.


	2. Chapter 2

A.N.: Sorry, these chapters are short but I promise they'll get longer and better. Please Review!

**Ch. 2**

Anyone else in Anakin Skywalker's position would have been panicking. He was piloting half of what was once a huge ship, and he was heading straight for a crash landing into the biggest and most important city in the galaxy. The ship was beginning to burn as it entered the atmosphere, and his passengers were the Chancellor of the Republic, himself, and his Jedi Master, one of the greatest Jedi, in his opinion, of all time.

But Anakin had removed himself from the situation. He knew he had it under control- piloting was his passion, and no situation was too much for Anakin Skywalker to handle. Maybe he was cocky, but he felt indestructible. He felt like he had everything- a career that was driving him toward stardom in the Jedi records- he already had the highest medichlorian count of any Jedi ever recorded… he still didn't fully understand this, but he knew it meant that he was powerful. And he felt like he had proven himself too, rescuing the Chancellor, killing count Dooku… and now saving them as he piloted this ship to safety.

But most importantly, he had the most beautiful woman in the world as his wife. And, since simple happiness was never enough for Anakin, he had the rush of trying to keep his marriage a secret from the Jedi Council, not to mention the entire galaxy. Not only was he a famous Jedi, but his wife was an ex-queen and current Senator. The secret worried Padme, he knew, but he quite enjoyed it. He kind of liked that he could have this secret- that the masters had to practice celibacy, and he actually got to sleep with a beautiful woman whom he loved dearly, and whom he knew worshipped him.

But now he really was getting cocky, and the ship was landing.

As it bumped around and he knocked down a tower on the runway, he couldn't stop thinking of Padme. He had missed her so much, and now he could see her after so many months. He thought of holding her in his arms. He couldn't wait.

Obi Wan was talking to him, but it was in a daze that Anakin boarded the transport and headed to the Senate building.

Obi Wan left him to his "day with the politicians," and was gone.

Anakin went through the formalities that he knew he must to not seem suspicious, but finally, he saw her face behind one of the giant pillars.

He ran over to her, so happy that they could finally spend some time together. He had so many plans, he would take her out and they would finally enjoy being a young couple in the city. They'd have to try to disguise themselves of course, but he really didn't care any more. He just wanted to be with her.

He saw her looking at him, and ran the rest of the way over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3**

Padme saw him approaching, and it almost broke her heart. His face was so full of hope- so happy, so ready for anything… and yet she knew the one thing he wasn't ready for. She felt like she'd be crushing his dreams- a Jedi could not be a father… 'I think I'm starting to see why they made the code' she realized ironically.

But she soon forgot all of this as Anakin embraced her. She kissed him, passionately, never wanting to let him go. As he ran his fingers through her hair, she forgot everything but being with him in that moment. She hadn't realized how much she had needed him over those months. She felt so secure again with his body against hers. She felt wrong thinking it in the Senate building, but she couldn't wait to get him alone back in their apartment.

Anakin stared at her, so happy to have her back in his arms. She was so incredibly beautiful; he really couldn't believe they were married. He had missed her touch so much. He wanted to just kiss her forever, right in front of everyone.

But he knew he couldn't. He had to keep it secret, as much as it killed him. He knew the Jedi council would never let him continue to serve if they found out he had been hiding his marriage all this time.

"Padme, I've missed you so much," he said as he stared in to her eyes.

At his words, Padme suddenly realized where she was.

"Anakin, we musn't, someone will see us."

"So let them look. Padme, I don't care if they know that we're married."

"Anakin don't talk like that." What Padme tried not to show is that his words relieved her… maybe he would give it up. Maybe they could both retire and live a quiet life with-

"Padme I have so much to tell you. This adventure was the best yet. I wish you could come with me, my separation from you is the only thing that keeps my life from being perfect."

No- she knew he loved being a Jedi. She couldn't ask him to give up his career. Plus, she certainly enjoyed being married to one of the heroes of the galaxy, even if no one could ever know. As Anakin looked at her, she knew that she couldn't keep this a secret from him any longer.

"Ani- let's go somewhere that we can be alone. I- I have something to tell you."

Anakin's heart sank. Something was wrong. He hated to see Padme upset, he had to know what was bothering her. Her behavior worried him so much. He began to fear the worst, praying that she wasn't sick or hurt.

"Padme, what's wrong. Are you ok?"

"Yes, well… please I can't tell you here."

"Let's just go home."

"Ok. But not together Anakin- we must be wise. We must take different routes."

Anakin hated that.

"I'm sick of this Padme. I hate covering up."

"But Anakin, we must."

She hated it too, but she wouldn't let them get caught. Especially not here, not by

a senator.

"All right," he agreed, "I'll see you soon."  
"And Anakin," she paused, "Please, hurry."

Anakin certainly was hurrying. He couldn't imagine what was wrong but it worried him greatly. Padme had seemed genuinely upset, more so than any time he had ever seen her. His immediate reaction would have been that their secret had been revealed, but she was so adamant about not letting anyone see them that he knew that couldn't be it.

This wasn't how this day was supposed to be! Anakin had waited so long to see her, and now something seemed terribly wrong. He didn't know what to do, and was very distracted as he hurried home. He was so distracted, that he did not notice Obi Wan in front of him. He brushed past Obi Wan and was about to walk off the transport, when his master's voice brought him out of his trance.

"Well, Anakin, where are you off to in such a hurry? The Jedi temple isn't for two more stops. Certainly you aren't planning to start an evening out at this hour?"

Anakin knew he was trapped. He would have to return to his quarters at the Jedi temple with his master, and he would have no way of contacting Padme without raising suspicion. As much as he loved his master, he was deeply angry that Obi Wan of all people would have been on this transport. As he searched for an excuse, the doors closed and the transport moved on to the next stop.

'I should have borrowed a speeder.' He though. 'What the Sith am I going to do now?'

Padme rushed home trying to figure out what to say to Anakin. C-3PO could see that she was worried, and after making her some tea even the droid could tell that she was best left alone.

After waiting at least fifteen minutes, Padme began to worry. Anakin was usually very punctual, and she knew that he had been concerned about what she had said.

After a half an hour, she began to feel both angry and extremely worried. She hoped she hadn't scared Anakin away with her words- could it be that he was avoiding her?

She let a tear fall down her cheek, utterly lost about how to handle her current situation. She began to sob, and was nearly hysterical when C-3PO came to tell her she had a message.

"Mistress Padme, Master Anakin wishes to speak with you." Said the droid.

She didn't know whether to be happy or scared, but she rushed to meet Anakin's holo.

"Padme, I'm so sorry."

"Where have you been Anakin? I told you I had something to important to tell you." She said, angrily.

"I know, I was rushing as fast as I could, but in my haste I failed to notice Obi Wan sitting right in front of me. I rushed past him and he caught me. I had to return to the Jedi temple, what excuse would I have had for entering your apartment building at this hour?"  
As emotional as Padme was after this day, she had to admit that that made sense.

"Of course, I understand Ani. I just need to tell you something- it's very important."  
It killed Anakin to see her like this.

"Tell me Padme- what is it. No one is around me, I promise."

"No Ani- I have to tell you this in person."

"Then I'm coming over," he said determinedly.

"No, Anakin, that's far too risky. Someone will see you."  
"I don't care. I'll be there soon."

He disconnected, and Padme had to admit she was relieved he would soon be there. 'Please be careful Anakin.' She thought.

She heard a knock at the door.

'That was fast,' she thought, pleasantly surprised. 'No, that was too fast.' She realized.

She opened the door and saw Jedi Master Mace Windu at her door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4**

"Master Windu, um… what a pleasant surprise." Padme said, clearly not pleased.

"I'm sorry to disturb you at this hour Senator, but I have a matter of grave importance that I wish to discuss with you," the Jedi Master said sternly.

'Uh-Oh,' thought Padme, 'This can't be good.' Master Windu's words worried her greatly. She had always shared a mutual respect with Mace Windu, and she considered him a good friend and knew he felt the same. Now suddenly, he seemed rather displeased with her for some reason, and there was only one reason she could think of.

"Um, may I come in?"

Padme suddenly realized she had left him standing at the door.

"Of course, please sit down."  
The Jedi sat on the couch and stared intently at Padme for quite some time.

"I wish to discuss with you a matter concerning Anakin Skywalker."

'Oh my God, Anakin,' thought Padme. He would be arriving any minute. She had never wished to be Force sensitive more than she did in this moment. She tried as hard as possible to reach to him with her thoughts, but felt it was useless. 'Anakin, don't come in here. Please Anakin, stay away.' She thought as hard as she could. She knew if Mace Windu found Anakin entering her apartment at this hour, an excuse would be rather difficult to find. She prayed that Anakin would be able to sense that Master Windu was here and have the intelligence to stay away. But she knew that if he sensed that she was distraught he would only move more quickly to get there.

"Of course, what's wrong Master Windu?" Padme asked, genuinely concerned now.

"I have a mission that I need Obi Wan to go on alone, and I know that Anakin will not take that news well at all."

So far, this news was far better than anything Padme had expected.

"Yes, he certainly doesn't like to be left behind," She agreed. 'But I'll certainly be happy to have him around,' she thought.

"He already feels as if we don't trust him, which I'll have to admit to you is partially true. The boy is so spirited that it often manifests itself in anger and fear. No doubt you can sense his extreme passion for whatever he's doing."

'If only you knew,' Padme thought, amused.

"I know what you mean," she said, still unsure of where this was going.

"Padme, I'll be frank with you. I don't want Anakin on this mission because he is reckless. I am in no way trying to downplay his skills- he is very talented, and has the capability of being one of the greatest Jedi ever."

Padme had to agree, but Master Windu seemed to be trying to evade his point, and she didn't really understand what this had to do with her. It was as if he knew that they were involved, but he clearly didn't.

"I'm sorry to interrupt Master Windu, but just exactly what does this have to do with me?" She hoped that this would secure the fact that she and Anakin weren't involved for at least a few more weeks with the Jedi council.

"Well Padme, you and Anakin are close, everyone knows it."

"Yes, he is a good friend of mine," She dodged the truth expertly.

"I don't want to interfere with your Senatorial duties, but I was wondering if you could spend some time with him and try to understand where his anger flows from. We don't understand it- he has the respect of the galaxy, and his skills certainly have the respect of the council. But he's an adult now, and his recklessness and want of power worry us. He is so ready to hate, and we don't understand it. We thought you might be able to help."

Padme couldn't believe her ears. She was actually being asked to spend _more_ time with her husband. This was too good to be true.

She suddenly realized her face was showing too much excitement at this prospect. She calmed herself down.

"Certainly, I can try to fit him in," she stated, stifling laughter. She was happier than she'd been in at least a month. She worried that Mace Windu would take her apparent amusement disrespectfully, but he smiled too.

"It's nice to see you smile Senator. You've been so serious lately- it's a shame that you've had to deal with these serious times in the senate. I know news has been bad lately, but we all share your hope that things will start to look up. Obi Wan and Anakin are doing well to turn the tables."

Padme smiled, and suddenly saw Anakin's face at the door. She looked at him, trying to make her eyes tell him to go away.

'Master Windu?' Thought Anakin. He felt stupid for having not sensed his presence. He had been so distracted with the thought of seeing Padme, and had certainly not expected that anyone else would be there at this hour. He looked at Padme, and almost started to laugh out loud at her expression. She clearly was ready for Master Windu to be on his way, but he could tell that the Jedi Master had no idea. 'He should be more sensitive to her thoughts as a Jedi Master,' he thought to himself. He gave Padme a mischievous smile, and, as she shook her head at him, knowing he was going to do something risky, he used the Force to make an open door down the hall slam, loudly.

'Oh no Anakin, no,' thought Padme, sure that he would be caught.

Anakin ducked out of sight just as Master Windu turned his head.

"What was that?" he shouted.

"I think it was just a door slamming," Padme said quickly, "nothing to worry about I mean, you don't need to go out there."

"I'm very nervous about anything out of the ordinary lately. We all fear for your safety especially senator."

Anakin screamed now, as if he was scared, and Padme shrunk down in her chair, horrified.

"I'd better go see what's going on. Thank you for your time Senator." And with that, Mace Windu walked out of the door.

He passed within inches of Anakin hiding in the shadows, but Anakin tried as hard as he could to block his presence. As Windu went down the hall, Anakin slid into Padme's apartment and shut the door.

The young couple burst out laughing, but Padme soon stopped to reprimand her husband.

"Anakin how can you be so attractive to me when you're so immature."

"Oh, I'm just having a little fun Padme."

"You know I don't like close calls when it comes to us."

"Oh, but I do."

"I know you do, but you can't take so many risks, I just can't…" Anakin cut her off with a kiss. "Anakin…" She whined, but then she let him kiss her, and as they sunk on to the couch Padme forgot completely why she was upset. Anakin broke the kiss but kept his hands on her, and she stared up at him, speechless.

"Still mad?"

"Shut up." She said, pulling him back on top of her. He ran his hands over her whole body, and both were lost in the moment.

Anakin was so happy to finally be alone with her. He had missed her so much. He had been waiting for this moment ever since he had gotten back. But suddenly, Padme stopped him.

"Anakin, I have to tell you this now, I just can't keep it from you any longer."

"Of course, I've been worried," Anakin said, clearly disappointed about stopping what they were doing.

"Anakin, I…" Padme looked into his eyes, unsure of how to tell him this.

"Padme, you know you can tell me anything. I love you," he said sweetly.

This gave Padme the reassurance she needed.

"Ani- I'm pregnant." She said. He looked at her, speechless.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch. 5**

Anakin stared at Padme, unsure of how to react. Pregnant? He had always hoped that he and Padme would eventually have children, but this was so sudden and unexpected to him. The timing was terrible- he'd be leaving on another mission soon; he couldn't even guarantee that he'd be home to see his child born. How would they keep this secret if they had a baby? He had always thought that when his taste for adventure had been satiated, that he would retire from the order and he and Padme could live an average life, and then start their family. But he certainly wasn't ready to give this life up yet, and he knew it would hurt her career as well.

However, at the same time, the back of Anakin's mind was filled with hope. A baby? How wonderful would it be for he and Padme to raise a child, cementing their love forever. He could raise it as a Jedi; perhaps he could even be its Master! To have your own child be your Padawan- it had certainly never happened before…but of course, there was a reason for that. The code… so maybe he'd be expelled from the order, but certainly his child would share his medichlorian count, and could join the order! Whatever the outcome, Anakin was ready to love his coming baby. Though his worries certainly outshined his excitement, he hoped that as he got used to the idea, this would change. For now, he would do whatever Padme needed.

Padme! He suddenly looked at her, standing in front of him, just waiting for him to react. He suddenly felt deep empathy for her. How had she been able to deal with this alone, before he came back? How long had she known? Her career would definitely be in jeopardy, she couldn't hide this pregnancy forever, and he knew how much she loved being a Senator. He saw in her eyes that she was thinking the same way he was- she was worried, anxious, and unsure of her next step. He tried to probe her mind to see how he could comfort her, but all of her energy was focused on him, waiting for his reply. All he could tell was that she was just as unprepared for this as he was feeling. But he knew that she would be a fabulous mother no matter what, and he knew that he could find a way to be ready too.

"Anakin, what are we going to do? Please, say something," She pleaded.

"In the long run, I don't know what we're going to do Padme. There's no point in me trying to gloss over the fact that this is a worrisome turn of events- I have already felt that you agree. But Padme, you are far too worried. All of your thoughts are so invested in worrying about how this will affect us in a negative way- have you yet stopped to think about the positive side of this situation?" He paused, smiling at her. "Padme- we're going to have a child! I love you more than life itself, and now, that love is going to be forever manifested in a child that we have created through that love. Padme, this is wonderful news. And it calls for a celebration."

Whatever Padme had been expecting, it hadn't been that. For a grown man who had just played what she could only categorize as a practical joke on a Jedi Master,those wordsmust have come from somewhere buried deep in his head. Anakin had just spoken the wisest and most mature words she had ever heard him speak; and they had been exactly what she needed to hear. She had, of course, feared that he would be devastated that their young lives had to end so quickly, but her main fear had been a different one. She would have preferred his honest opinion, even if it were negative, to his trying to cover up his feelings and pretend he was overjoyed. She had truly feared that he would try to act happy around her, and thus spend more time away worrying to himself about what to do. But Anakin, with wisdom and compassion beyond anything she'd ever witnessed in him, had somehow found the perfect medium for her ears. She looked into his eyes, and suddenly knew that everything would be all right.

"Oh Anakin, how did you know exactly what I needed to hear."

"I just said what I felt Padme. And because we are so perfect for one another, it simply was exactly what you needed to hear."

Padme wrapped her arms around her husband and he held her tightly. She began to cry, but this time the tears were happy ones. She was going to have a baby with the man she loved, and suddenly, this didn't seem like such a bad idea.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ch. 6**

"All right Padme, get your jacket."

"What? You can't possibly suggest we go out at this hour."

"Yes I do suggest it! We're going out to celebrate! You can drive, because you're pregnant and can't drink, and I can celebrate for the both of us." He laughed, "Just kidding… Sort of."

Well, mature Anakin was certainly gone, Padme mused. 'I guess that was a rare treat for me,' she thought to herself. But it was this Anakin, with his spirited yet boyish demeanor, that she had fallen in love with, and in a way, it was nice to have him back. She wouldn't deny that that mischievous grin he had mastered was extraordinarily attractive to her. And she knew that his excitement was genuine. It meant that he was already relaxed with the situation. She only could hope that his wiser side would come out sometimes in educating their child.

As Anakin went to get the coats, his spirits continued to rise. It wasn't that he had forgotten their worries; he knew they would have to deal with all of these complicated issues soon, but the more he thought about having a baby the happier he became. He just knew that he and Padme would be so happy together and the child would have a loving home. He hoped that the baby would share Padme's compassion and intelligence, but his love of adventure and lightheartedness. But for now, it was time to celebrate.

"Ok Padme, where should we go?" He asked excitedly.

"Well Anakin Skywalker, one of the most famous Jedi in the galaxy, there aren't exactly too many places to which you and I can go without getting recognized, so I suggest we stay put. In fact, Anakin, I'm not entirely sure that we've _ever_ 'gone out' together at all!"

"Well tonight, we're going. We can disguise ourselves, but we're going to have a good time."

"You know we're going to have to talk about this at some point, Anakin."

He turned to her, his face turning serious again. "Yes, I know Padme. And we will, and I promise that I will be here to deal with all of that. I will make it work out, and we can talk as much as you need to… I realize there is a lot to work out. But this moment, this is a happy time, and we are going to celebrate."

Anakin smiled at his wife, and as she smiled back, her first really genuine smile in months, she shed her Senator demeanor and simply let herself be young, happy, and in love.

"Ok Mr. Skywalker," she smiled at him, "Where are we going?"

Anakin became almost giddy in his excitement. "Ok, ok I know this place, it's sort of shady, but they have a band and I promise it'll be fun. Ok, but we're going to have to wear cloaks, and not Jedi cloaks either, because you're right, if we went like this it would be a terrible idea."

"I don't want to wear a cloak!"

"It's ok Padme, you could look beautiful in anything." He kissed her, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and laughed.

They dressed in civilian clothes and went out to explore the nightlife of Coruscant.

Padme was happier than she'd been for as long as she could remember. She and Anakin had never been able to simply go out and enjoy themselves, always too afraid of being caught. It was nice to be under the radar for once, meeting other people their age and simply having fun. She wondered to herself why they'd never considered going out late at night before. The other Senators and Jedi of Anakin's prestige were all older than they, and would certainly not be out so late. The younger Jedi did go out, and Padme knew that as a teenage Padawan Anakin had had his share of fun.

But Anakin had been unique, he had started his training so old that most of his companions were younger than he, and he found them hard to hang out with. Then, suddenly, when he had passed his Jedi trials, he had proven so skillful that he was thrust in to a crowd much older than he, and he again didn't really have friends his age. The times he had been out with other Padawans had certainly been fun, but the only person he had ever really connected with on a peer level was Padme.

Anakin was also happy to be out with his wife, unencumbered by responsibility. He was excited to be meeting new people without the context of being a Jedi. Most of the people he met he was either protecting or killing, and he never felt comfortable with either set. Now here he was, with his gorgeous wife and other people his age, and he was able to simply be a kid.

Both Padme and Anakin had missed a normal childhood, having been encumbered with responsibilities at young ages. This outing was refreshing for both of them.

"Anakin, I'm so glad you made me do this. I'm having a fabulous time," Padme told him.

"Me too, and I'm just so glad I can spend time with you openly, not worrying about getting caught!"

Anakin and Padme sat on barstools in a club, laughing as people danced in front of them. The bartender approached to them, and they smiled at the man from under their hoods.

"What can I get you two?"

"Just iced tea for us," said Anakin. Padme smiled at him, realizing that she was surprised at his restraint. "You didn't think I would actually drink without you did you Padme? I'm insulted!"

"I'm sorry Anakin, I just- and stop mind probing me, please!"

"I'm just kidding. I probably will have a drink later."

"So why aren't you drinking?" Suddenly, a group of men and women about their age were sitting next to them.

"That's a rather presumptuous question," said Padme the Senator.

"I'm pregnant too!" said one of the girls. "We're having a boy." She smiled up at a man, who was presumably her husband.

"How could you suggest that…" Suddenly, Padme realized she didn't have to cover anything up. "We don't know what it is yet. But I can't wait to find out."

The girl smiled at her. "So have you started thinking of names yet?"

"I…"

"I'm sorry, I realize I'm being kind of upfront, it's just that my friends are so sick of hearing about it."

"Yeah, seriously, we are." Said one of them.

The girl rolled her eyes at him, and Padme laughed. It was nice to talk to someone in a similar place in life as she was.

"I kind of hope it's a boy." Said Anakin, "but only because I feel like I'd have to be more responsible if it was a girl. I'd love it either way."

Padme smiled, finding herself really touched that Anakin was thinking about that. She herself hadn't even considered it yet. They chatted with the other couple and their friends, and were having a fabulous time.

"So what do you all do?" One of the guys asked.

As Anakin stuttered around ideas awkwardly, Padme was quick to cover up for him. "He's a public servant, and I work in politics." Padme was really proud of herself for keeping the truth hidden without really lying. She knew the Jedi Masters would think that was clever.

"What kind of politics?" Asked one of the girls.

Anakin was relieved that they took more of an interest in Padme than in him. Her job was easier to evade the truth about.

"She's brilliant! She should be chancellor," he said, knowing that a loving husband would say this no matter how high his wife was in the political spectrum, and thus that it gave nothing away. 'And I mean it Padme,' he told her through the Force.

Padme was touched, he had never said this to her before.

"You guys want to come over tomorrow night? We're having a party for our anniversary- it's going to be great! I realize it's sudden but you seem a lot like us, and I think it would be fun," said the pregnant girl.

"We keep inviting people because we know how hard it is to forget the war and just have fun," her husband said.

"I couldn't agree more." Anakin said whole-heartedly, and Padme agreed.

"You must deal a lot with the war, being involved in politics." One of the guys said.

Padme was growing increasingly uncomfortable as the conversation turned to the war. 'Relax, Padme,' Anakin told her through the Force.

"Stop!" Padme yelled, and everyone looked at her. "I mean, stop talking about politics, let's just have fun." She covered quickly.

"I wonder what it's like, fighting out there in the Outer Rim," one of the guys said.

"I heard that the Jedi are really struggling- apparently the Separatists have quite an army up there," said another.

Padme knew that it took all of Anakin's energy to keep from setting them straight.

"That's funny because I recently read just the opposite- I heard they killed Count Dooku and rescued the Chancellor just yesterday or something," said the first guy. "I've never met a Jedi but they certainly seem powerful to me."

Anakin smiled.

"What do you think?" One of them asked him.

Padme froze, staring at her husband. As Anakin worked out his answer, a crash and a scream from beyond the doorway startled them all.

"Oh no," one of the girls cried, "I told you we should stay home tonight. You thought it was just rumors but I told you!"

"What?" Anakin, ever the loyal Jedi, asked quickly. "What rumors?"

"I read today that the Separatist supporters in the Senate have secured access to some Storm Troopers on to Coruscant by using the cover that they hired them as personal protection, thus bringing the war to this planet. The warning was in today's paper that they might be searching the city for-"

A blaster sounded, and people came running into the nightclub.

"Searching for what?" Anakin yelled.

"How can this be?" Padme screamed. "The Chancellor promised that the armies would be kept off Coruscant! The vote was last week! And the Storm Troopers are our own troops!"

"I never trusted them," Anakin shot back.

"How do you know what's going on in the Senate, I'm telling you, it's true!" The other one yelled.

"Trust me, I know!" Padme yelled.

"Everyone try to hide!" The bartender yelled. "I'm unarmed, I can't defend you!"

Suddenly, four storm troopers burst into the bar, firing blasters in every direction.

As people in the bar began to scream, Anakin, much to the shock of the people around him, whipped out his light saber and spun to block the Storm Troopers blasts.


	7. Chapter 7

**Ch. 7**

Anakin Skywalker sliced down storm trooper after storm trooper as they continued to pour into the little bar. He certainly was confused- he and Obi Wan had known for some time that the Clone troops had certain leaders that were not loyal to the Republic and the Jedi.The Order had gradually been trying to end the war before the troops could betray them, but no Jedi had imagined that the Sith they assumed was controlling the clone troops would have the guts to command an actual raid on Coruscant.

As he fought, the friends they had made stared at him in utter disbelief, and Padme stood dumbly in between, unsure of how to act. At first she had hardly even given his actions a second thought- she was, of course, used to him fighting. But as she noticed the shock on the faces of her new friends, she suddenly realized where they were, and did not know what to do. The repercussions to his actions were infinite- every course of action she felt they now had to take would make them end up looking suspicious- and their personal lives were now the least of her worries.

Who had permitted the troops to land on Coruscant? She couldn't believe that the Senate had been so misled- she knew it was corrupt, and it continued to get worse, but this was beyond anything she could imagine. Clones attacking the people? She felt stupid for having been ignorant to this coming situation. Anakin had warned her not to trust the Senate and the clones, knowing that they wanted the war as much as the Separatists, but she couldn't bring herself to believe it until now. She sighed, in complete resignation, feeling fairly useless. She knew that as risky as Anakin's actions were, he was doing the right thing in defending innocent people against the clone army. In fact, he had to defend them, and so she simply watched as he saved the lives of the entire bar, and seriously complicated his own.

As Anakin flipped around, hacking away at storm troopers, he didn't know what to think of this situation. Why were they here? This was supposed to be protected- it was destroying everything he believed in that these troops were here harming innocent civilians. He gravely hoped that this had nothing to do with his presence in the club, because, forget the Jedi order, he would probably be banished from the planet forever for having caused this while out illegally with his illegal wife. Yes, he was certainly in a bad situation, and yet he hadn't been able to let these people get hurt when he was sitting there, armed, one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy. He knew that no matter what the situation, Obi Wan would have wanted him to defend the innocent. That was a Jedi's duty, was it not?  
A laser blast nicked his upper arm, and he realized that he had let his concentration slip while he thought about the situation. He knew that he had to put all thoughts aside and simply fight, and that was what he did. He glanced back at Padme to make sure that she and his unborn baby were safe, and whipped around to face his next enemy.

"Aren't you scared?" One of the women next to Padme asked her, in tears. Padme suddenly realized she had been very unresponsive to the whole situation, as war-torn as she and Anakin were, and that the others were puzzled by her behavior.

"With a husband as a Jedi, she probably sees this a lot," spat one of the men, clearly insulted at their secrecy. "Hey, isn't that illegal or something? I thought Jedi couldn't marry."

"Please, I…" Before Padme could answer, she heard Anakin yell to her.

"Padme- here!" He yelled, throwing her a blaster that he had force pulled off of one of the dead Storm Troopers, "And be careful!"

As Padme stumbled backwards to catch the gun, her hood fell down, completely exposing her face to everyone in the bar. She knew it was too late to worry about that, and ignoring gasps from some of the crowd, she began to fire at storm troopers, hoping that these people would be intelligent enough to keep quiet. She hit her mark, and turned to find the next storm trooper.

"Wait a minute, I know her, she's a Senator!"

Padme cringed to hear these words, knowing that her pregnancy was certainly revealed, at least to the seven or so people whom she openly told about it.

"You're Padme Amidala, aren't you?" Asked the pregnant woman. "So you're-"

Padme cut her off before she could say anything.

"Please," Padme begged, "as one woman to another, please don't say it. Don't say anything."

The woman hesitated. "Of course… I'm sorry. It would be…"  
"Disastrous, yes. Clearly, we can't keep this secret forever, but just pretend you never heard anything. Our reputations are literally in your hands."

"A Senator married to a Jedi," said the woman's husband. "So who's your husband anyway."  
Padme was shocked that she would be recognized before Anakin, but turning to him she realized that, even through his entire battle, he had managed to keep his hood up. 'He certainly is impressive,' she thought lovingly, as she turned to shoot another storm trooper.

Anakin was growing increasingly weary of using the Force to hold his hood up on his head. But he couldn't even imagine the repercussions if his identity were revealed. Finally, it seemed as if theapparently endless line of clones had finally been defeated. He looked around, satisfied with his work.

"Has anyone been injured?" He asked.

Everyone stared at him; as if he wasn't even a human they could talk to. Jedi were growing increasingly rare, especially because they were all on missions in the Outer Rim these days. They were heroes to the eyes of the public, but this had been such a strange experience it was almost as if they were afraid of him. Suddenly, however, someone began to clap. Soon, the whole bar was cheering for him, thanking him for saving them.

Anakin smiled, feeling rather too proud of himself.

'Oh no,' thought Padme. 'They shouldn't encourage him.'

'Don't worry Padme,' he Force-spoke to her, 'I would never reveal myself. It would ruin both of us.'

He turned to her, upset to see that she had already been revealed. She smiled at him, but only in a professional manner, hoping that the whole group hadn't yet noticed that they were really a couple.

"Thank you, Master Jedi, on behalf of the Senate of the Republic," she wisely began, "It is fortunate that a warrior was here to defend these people."

Their friends from before gave her a strange look, but she begged them with her eyes to say nothing.

Gradually, people in the bar began to thank him, and no one yet seemed to recognize him. Everyone together began to clean up.

"So, Senator, what brought you here this late at night?" Asked one of the people who had recognized her.

"Senators like to have fun too sometimes," she answered, smiling.

"Come on, you must have had some reason."

"My business, as you all should now understand, is very private," she answered.

"Well what do you think about all this? I mean I heard it's the Senate that allowed it."

"Let me clarify that the Senate voted completely against ever bringing a war to Coruscant. Now, the implications of corruption in the Senate will certainly be dealt with. That is all I really can say on the matter." Padme stated truly professionally.

"Master Jedi, if I may," ventured a timid witness, "Why were you here? Did you know that the troops would be coming?"

"If the Order had known, more fighters would have been stationed throughout the city tonight. No, it was a complete surprise to me, and I was in fact out tonight to enjoy some time with my friend the Senator and forget momentarily about the war." Anakin answered.

Padme was proud of how he had dealt with that- she laughed to herself to think that Anakin could probably have made a good politician if he could learn to control his emotions.

The bartender approached Anakin and Padme. "Thank you for helping- I felt responsible, as the owner, for these people's safety, and you really helped me tonight. Can I offer you a free drink? I realize it hardly pays back for what you have done, but it's a gesture."

Anakin was about to accept, when he looked at Padme and remembered her predicament. "No thank you, we were just about to head home, I to the Jedi headquarters, and she to her apartment, of course." Anakin smiled proudly to himself at his answer.

Padme groaned. That had been unnecessary, now of course people would assume they were going to go somewhere together. As terrible as that fact was, she couldn't help but think how cute Anakin was when he tried to be clever.

"Come along, Senator, let me escort you home," he said.

Padme turned to follow him. As they left, everyone in the bar again thanked them for their help, and wished Padme the best of luck in dealing with the Senate and Anakin the best of luck in the war.

'It certainly is refreshing to be in a room full of kindhearted people,' Padme thought to herself.

But just as the Jedi and Senator thought that they had evaded what could have been a disastrous evening, Anakin opened the door to the club and a gust of wind blew off his hood.

A gasp from inside the bar told them that he had been recognized instantly.

"Anakin Skywalker?" Gasped one of the men with whom they had talked about the war.


	8. Chapter 8

**Ch. 8**

Anakin froze. He cursed himself for having let go of his Force hold on his hood. He had worked so hard to keep himself hidden throughout the battle, and now, by a simple act of nature, he had been revealed anyway. He turned to Padme, and this time, they both knew that even for Anakin there was no thrill in this disaster. For maybe the first time in his life, Anakin was at a complete loss for how to even think about dealing with this situation. He normally used the Force to guide him, but there was no way for that to help him now.

To make matters worse, he could sense that Padme felt just as lost as he did. He had hoped that perhaps, as the brilliant politician that she was, she might have something to say to make things right- he usually relied on her for things like that. But he knew that they were both aware of the difficulty of the situation.

Padme searched her brain for the right thing to say. She knew that she should address the whole bar, say something about how she and Anakin were friends, out to catch up after he had been away on a long mission, but she knew that no one would buy it. Even if the people on the periphery of the situation would accept that explanation, she knew that at least ten people who had been near her and her husband that night could tell they were involved. And all of her energy that might have gone to coming up with an excuse was focused on the dread that filled her when she thought of the few people she had told about her pregnancy. This was the most perplexing situation the politician had faced in her entire career since being elected queen at the age of fourteen. And she was stumped.

Suddenly, Anakin turned to face everyone in the bar. He looked at the man who had said his name, smiled, and said, "Yes?"

"So you are Anakin Skywalker?"

"I am."

"Wow," was all the man could think of saying.

The whole bar was silent. Everyone was feeling just as awkward as Anakin and Padme. They all knew what big news this was, but what were they supposed to say? These people were at least sensitive enough to know that bombarding the Senator and the Jedi with questions would be really rude, and so they remained silent. There was simply nothing to say, and they simply waited for the famous couple in front of them to deal with the situation.

"Listen," Padme began. "You've all witnessed us here together tonight, there's no getting around that. You've also had to deal with clone troops, fighting for the Republic which we thought was protecting our safety, come into a civilian bar and attack all of us. I am not trying to scare you, but only to be honest with you; I want you all to know that Anakin and I know absolutely no more about this situation then you all do. As I said, the Senate voted to keep the war away from Coruscant, so bringing our own troops here is certainly nothing we could have predicted.

"The fact that they are attacking civilians is something incomprehensible to me as a Senator of the Republic, or at least what used to be the Republic. And I know that as a Jedi, Anakin is completely taken aback as well. My point here is this- ask yourselves, is it more important to go home and be with your own loved ones, and try to comprehend among your families this terrible war, and share the fact that Clone troops attacked you tonight, or is it more important to tell everyone you know that you witnessed a Jedi and a Senator together at a bar.

"We would like to be able to deal with our loved ones and our jobs, and we will be able to serve you better if we don't have to deal with any other… issues. After all, we work for you, and you would only jeopardize your own safety by introducing… complicated matters in the Jedi Order and the Senate. The truth will be out eventually, but now is not the time. I obviously can't control your thoughts, so as far as I'm concerned I'm asking you a favor of your own free will," She smiled, "but Anakin is Jedi. He can."

'Padme, I can't control fifty people's thoughts at once, much less after they leave this room,' Anakin Force spoke to her, obviously annoyed and slightly nervous about the prospect.

"They don't know that, Ani." She whispered to him.

'I love you,' he told her through the Force. He never ceased to be amazed at her brilliance. He certainly knew she would be the wise and intellectual parent of their baby. He just hoped he wouldn't appear to be too much of an idiot next to her. He laughed out loud, he couldn't help it. Then he sobered up, after receiving a look from Padme. He tried to reassure her through the Force that it would be ok, even though, he mused, it was she who had really taken care of the situation.

The events of the night had reassured Anakin. He now felt that when he and Padme were willing to let out their secret, they would be ok as long as they stood together. No matter what happened, he felt secure with her. He would certainly be angry and miss being a Jedi if he got kicked out of the order, but he knew he would be ok. What mattered was his baby and his wife, even more than the Jedi. He just hoped that Obi Wan wouldn't feel betrayed- his friendship was also of dire importance to Anakin. As he mused over these thoughts, Anakin could feel a sense of calm in the bar, and felt that most, if not all, of these patrons seemed willing to keep mum about their secret.

Padme smiled up at her husband, trying to make the smile look purely professional out of hope that some people still believed them only to be friends. 'Although,' she thought, 'my speech was sort of revealing.' She felt reassured having him there by her side, and suddenly felt like the only reason they'd worried so much before is that they were never together. Fear of being caught together kept them apart, and this only made each of them more fearful. It was like a Catch-22, and though unavoidable, she felt saddened that it had to continue.

She hoped that after the war everything could be revealed. She was willing to reveal everything already, seeing as her job seemed to no longer be serving the Republic that she had believed in. But she knew that Anakin would never abandon the order during the war, and she also knew that even if he was willing, she couldn't let it happen because the Order needed him.

Suddenly, interrupting the thoughts of everyone in the room, the bartender spoke. "You know, it's not every day I get Padme Amidala and Anakin Skywalker together in my bar," he looked at them emotionless, and they feared the worst, "So it is a shame," he continued, "that no one but these people right here will ever know. " He smiled at his famous customers.

"Thank you," said Padme.

"Although I am a little insulted I wasn't invited to the wedding," continued the bartender. "You probably could have used a best man, Ani."

Anakin stared at him, taken utterly off-guard. For the first time all night, he really looked at the face of the bartender, and he felt a certain warmth around him that he hadn't felt since he was a young boy. Anakin smiled in disbelief as he recognized a dear old friend.


	9. Chapter 9

**A.N. I had some fun with this tonight, so here's two more chapters! Yay! (I was babysitting… what to do when the kids go to bed?)**

**Ch. 9**

"Kitster?" Anakin cried. He couldn't believe it. He hadn't seen his friend in almost fifteen years. "Wow, It is great to see you… you've grown up!"

"Look at you Anakin! I always knew you'd be a great Jedi- it's what you dreamed of," said his friend, warmly, "And speak of growing up- if your face wasn't plastered all over the Holo-net I wouldn't have recognized you. The little boy I knew is certainly gone."

"So what brought you to Coruscant?" Anakin asked.

"Well, as you know better than anyone, life on Tatooine doesn't have much to offer. And to tell you the truth, I thought of Coruscant because of you. I had heard the Jedi Masters who came to get you speak of it, and I thought I might as well go. I expected of course, to see you, but this place is a lot more densely populated than Tatooine."

"You should have sought me out years ago, old friend," Anakin told him.

"You? You're impossible to reach Anakin. I'm just glad to have run into you. And I've been happy here- there were many opportunities for me here, I couldn't have asked for more," replied the now very grown up and wise looking Kitster.

"Well that's wonderful," Anakin smiled for a minute, happy just to see a friend from so long ago. Suddenly, he remembered Padme. "And this," he lowered his voice to a whisper, just in case, "this is my beautiful wife Padme."

"Yes Anakin, I met her when we were nine. Remember?" Kitster smiled, "It is good to see you again, Senator. And congratulations."

"Thank you," Padme replied, "I remember you now, with Anakin at the Pod races when you were just boys. It is good to see you again."

"Anakin had a crush on you even then," Kitster laughed.

"Kitster!" Anakin whined, his inner nine year old causing his face to turn a bright shade of pink.

Padme smiled at her husband, having trouble keeping herself from laughing. She hadn't seen Anakin so without stress in a long time- she knew it was good for him to see someone that reminded him of home.

"Listen, this time isn't great for us, as you can tell," Anakin half-joked, "but let me know where you live- we must meet again, there is a lot to catch up on."

"I understand my friend- here is my card." Said Kitster.

"A true professional," Anakin joked. "It was good to see you."

"And Anakin," Kitster continued, lowering his voice, "If you ever need a place for the two of you to, well, keep under the radar, you're welcome here, or even in the back room. Anything I can do to help."

"You don't know how refreshing it is to hear that, thank you," said Padme.

The couple turned back to the people in the bar.

"Thank you all for your understanding tonight," Padme said. "I hope that I can trust all of you not to betray us."

Anakin could sense most people feeling compassion for them, and his spirits rose. He was happy that good still existed in what was now such a twisted Universe.

"Anakin," he heard Padme whisper, "we should probably…" She nudged her shoulder towards the people with whom they had shared their most intimate secret.

"Yes," he said, absent mindedly, as he looked at the group.

They walked over to the pregnant woman, her husband, and their friends.

"Listen," Padme began, "the group of you knows even more about our… situation than anyone else in the Universe. I beg of you not to reveal anything. Please, show us compassion. We know what we have done is wrong in the eyes of the law, but you," she looked at the married couple, "of all people, you must understand that love overpowers everything. Imagine yourselves, forbidden to marry each other- would you have let rules keep you apart?"

"No," the woman answered without even having to think. "I really sympathize with your situation. I won't say anything, but this is certainly amazing to know."

"Thank you," Anakin answered.

"Hey," one of the guys started, "If we promise to keep this secret, can you tell us about some of the adventures on the Outer Rim? Hearing one of the stories first hand from Anakin Skywalker, the most famous Jedi in the galaxy, is not an experience a lot of people get to have…"

Anakin looked around at the group, and could see that all of them wanted to hear of his adventures. He was proud to be so revered by this group, and excited that someone wanted to hear his stories. He had been called the most famous Jedi! He was glad the public appreciated his powers, even if the council was still wary of him.

Padme groaned to herself, half annoyed and half amused. She knew that Anakin's pride would be seriously boosted by this experience, and had certainly heard enough of his stories herself. But she was happy that he had an outlet for the excitement he brought home with him, and she was glad that his abilities and power were recognized. Most of all, she was proud of her husband.

"We really should get back and deal with this situation," Anakin said warily, "but I suppose I can tell of one adventure, my most recent."

And with that, Anakin began. He relayed, in as much detail as he could without revealing secrets of the Jedi Order and the Republic, the tale of his journey to save Count Dooku, feeling that this was the most interesting story. They were surprised to learn that most of it had taken place right above Coruscant. Soon, almost the whole bar surrounded him, fascinated by what he had to say.

Anakin's pride rose each second, but it was a healthy pride, a pride in the Jedi Order and in their accomplishments, not just in himself. He was just happy that his wife was here, snuggled up with him, and they didn't have to hide anything.

Padme leaned against Anakin and he kept his arm around her as he told his story, and she was almost in tears with happiness that they could be together for a while without trying to hide it.

Suddenly, everyone heard shouts from outside the door.

"I saw more of them go in here!" A voice yelled.

"Quickly, and have your weapons at the ready." Yelled another.

"Oh no," cried a woman at the bar, "not more of them."

Everyone turned to Anakin, and he jumped up, light saber ready. But something was different this time. He felt no sense of foreboding in the Force, no wavering that signaled danger… In fact, he felt something rather familiar.

Another yell from outside confirmed the Jedi's suspicions.

"Sith, what is happening to the universe? I knew we couldn't trust the clones!" It yelled, all to familiarly.

'Oh Force…' Thought Anakin.

"Padme, hide!" Anakin yelled, heatedly.

"Shouldn't we all?" Asked a woman.

"No, they are not enemies. They are here to help you."

"Who is it?" Asked one of the men.

"Jedi." answered Anakin, and just as Padme could duck out of sight, the door burst open as Obi Wan Kenobi, Mace Windu, Ki-Adi-Mundi, and several other Jedi burst in the door, light sabers raised.


	10. Chapter 10

**Ch. 10**

The Jedi burst in, light sabers raised, in search of the clone traitors, only to find Anakin Skywalker, light saber at his side, standing over nearly fifty dead storm troopers. Shock could not adequately describe Obi Wan Kenobi's feelings upon seeing the sight before him. The Jedi Masters stared open-mouthed at Anakin for what seemed like an eternity, until the young Jedi himself broke the silence.

"Hello Master," Anakin said sheepishly. Suddenly, Obi Wan came to his senses.

"Anakin, thank God you got here in time- and that you and all of these people are all right. When you weren't in your quarters at the Jedi temple, I could only hope that you had gotten the alert before me and made your way out to find the rest of the Jedi. When I didn't find you at the assigned post, I feared the worst." Obi Wan paused, surveying the scene. "You did all of this by yourself, young one?"

"Yes Master," Anakin replied, amazed at how fortunately the circumstances had turned out for him. He could simply say he had gotten the alert, all the while seeming like a hero! This was too good to be true.

"Well then, Anakin, instead of reprimanding you as we thought we might have to after this night, praise is due!" Said Master Windu. "Well done, and thank you. We saw clones running into so many buildings, and split ourselves up. We were assigned to this block of buildings. We feared we were too late, and clearly we were, but the storm troopers in the streets held us back for a long time. It is Mayhem, as I'm sure you saw Anakin."

As Ki-Adi-Mundi and the other Jedi went to check on the patrons of the bar, Obi Wan and Mace Windu continued to look at Anakin. Anakin knew they could sense that something about the situation was suspicious. The two masters were particularly confused as to why Anakin looked so shocked when they said there were troops in the streets. His next question only raised their suspicions.

"Actually, Masters, I've been in here most of the time. There are more of them?" Anakin replied, shocked.

"More of them? Anakin, this is just a one millionth of the damage- the troops turned on us, surely you got that message?" Obi Wan answered him.

"No, I was focused on my job here. Where else did they attack?"

"Mainly civilian places like this, but… Anakin this might be hard for you to hear," Obi Wan warned him, "Someone you're close to may have been… well…"

Anakin could sense great disturbance in his master- something was terribly wrong.

"What Master- I must know." He said bravely.

"We don't yet know who got out safely and who was injured, but Anakin… the main targets of tonight's attack were… the Senators."

Padme gasped, loudly. All heads turned toward her. She knew that she was no longer hidden, and cursed herself for having no control. But she couldn't help it- all of her friends, her dear mentor Bail Organa… what had become of them? And what would have become of her, had Anakin not taken her out tonight?

"Senator, thank goodness you're all right," said Mace Windu.

"But what are you doing _here_?" Obi Wan asked.

If Anakin hadn't known better, he could have sworn that Obi Wan had a suspicious twinkle in his eye. He tried to see into Obi Wan's thoughts, but it seemed as if Obi Wan was blocking him out. Anakin looked toward his Master, but Obi Wan stared intently at Padme. Anakin was confused.

"Have you heard from Bail Organa?" Padme asked.

"We have heard from no one," said Mace Windu gravely. "You can't even imagine how refreshing it is to see you alive and well. But I must echo Obi Wan. Why are you here?"

"I was… I…" Padme didn't know what to say. There was absolutely no reason in the universe that she would be in that bar. She stuttered around, and saw her husband doing the same. Poor Anakin- wait a minute, of course! Anakin! "I was with Anakin." She replied.

Anakin turned to her. 'What are you doing,' he asked her with the Force, nervously. He was shocked- was she about to tell the Masters their secret? She wouldn't do that, she couldn't- that would be like betraying him. And he knew she wouldn't. But her certainly did wonder what she _was_ going to say now.

"You had asked me earlier tonight, Master Windu, to talk with him… you remember," she looked at him, and he nodded to Obi Wan. "Anakin called me after that, he said that he couldn't sleep and sensed that I couldn't either, and I suggested that we go somewhere together, and talk. He is a good friend of mine, and I hadn't seen him in months, so this suggestion was welcome. So we sat here, talking, when suddenly the storm troopers came in, and Anakin defended everyone in here." Padme finished, pleased with herself.

'Master Windu asked Padme to talk to me?' Anakin thought to himself, perplexed, 'About what?'

"That certainly seems to make sense, Senator," replied Master Windu. "But Anakin gave us the impression that he was here because of the Order's alert…"

"Actually, I said nothing of the sort Master," Anakin replied, catching on quickly. "You simply assumed- that is why I was so surprised to hear that the attack was so widespread." He said this staring directly at Obi Wan, challenging the suspicion he had earlier felt in his master.

Anakin silently thanked the people in the bar for keeping quiet. He was actually surprised at how trustworthy these people were proving to be.

"Did they attack the Senators in their homes?" Padme asked nervously.

"Sadly, yes, Senator," replied Mace Windu. "It won't be safe for you to return home for some time. I'm sorry," he said, sincerely.

Padme was heartbroken. Everything in which she had believed seemed to have been destroyed. The Senate of the Republic was destroyed, and no one knew where the Senators were. Their own troops, under the leadership of some unknown enemy, had turned against the Senators and the Jedi. The confidence she had felt at Anakin's side just moments ago was completely shattered. She was overwhelmed, and sat down on a stool, unable to support herself any more. The galaxy seemed to be falling apart.

"Don't be so quick to give up, Senator," said Obi Wan.

She stared at him, suddenly sick of always being around Jedi who read her mind.

"I'm sorry," he said, "we don't mean to listen to your thoughts, but your grief at that moment was disturbing the force severely. It would have been difficult not to listen."

She looked at her husband and the other Jedi, and most of them nodded.

"The fact is, most of the clones have been destroyed. Their leader had severely misjudged the strength of the Jedi," Mace Windu told her. "In fact, one could look at it this way- we are far closer to the end of the war now than we were before the betrayal of the clones."

Anakin was reassured by this news, and he felt that Padme was too. He suddenly felt exhausted, and wanted nothing more than to be lying next to Padme, his arms wrapped around her, both sleeping peacefully.

"The Senator has had a difficult night," Anakin started, cautiously. "She cannot go to her home- I am willing to offer her my apartments. There she will be under the protection of the Jedi Temple." He looked around, encouraged that he hadn't been shot down immediately. "I will sleep on the floor of my common room, of course, and guard her door," he added quickly.

"Those arrangements make good sense to me," said Obi Wan, surprising Anakin greatly. "Take the Senator home with you, and you will be her bodyguard for the night until we can work this situation out further."

Again, Anakin thought he saw something in Obi Wan's eyes, a kind of suspicious, knowing smile. 'How could Obi Wan know,' thought Anakin. 'His duty would be to turn me in, and the other Masters are clearly not informed of the situation.' This angered Anakin. If Obi Wan knew something, Anakin wished his Master would be straightforward and ask him about it, rather than playing with his mind like this. Anakin reassured himself that he was imagining things, and began to head out the door with his wife.

"Oh, and Anakin," he heard Mace Windu say, hesitantly, "We… we would like you to meet us in the Council room for meeting tomorrow morning at 0900. You have fought better than any of us tonight- we could use your opinions in figuring this situation out."

Anakin couldn't believe his ears. Was Mace Windu, the man who had never fully trusted him as Obi Wan had, asking him to join the Jedi Council? This was beyond anything he had imagined, at least for another year or more. He couldn't believe it- was this really happening?

"Master Windu," Anakin began, barely containing his excitement, "Are you asking me to be on the Jedi Council?"

"At least temporarily Anakin," said the Master sternly. "Understand that this is not a permanent assignment," explained Windu. "However…," he hesitated, "Seeing as no Jedi has ever been on the council without being a Master…you are granted that rank, at least as long as you serve our Council. You must prove to us that you deserve the title indefinitely. We discussed the matter today- you have proven yourself time and again in battle for us, and during the war we felt you would be a valuable asset to our Council. We were wary, because of your recklessness, and so we thought that we would wait for you to prove yourself to us once more. Tonight, you have done so."

"Master, I can't even express…thank you," Anakin said humbly, shaking Mace Windu's hand. He couldn't even believe it. He was, finally, a Master. And he would not let them down- he would make sure that his post was permanent, at all costs.

"Anakin, understand that you must prove your usefulness on the council to be granted a permanent place… and the _unrestricted_ rank of Master," Obi Wan said to him, sternly. Then he smiled warmly, saying, "Congratulations, my Padawan."

Obi Wan was nearly knocked off of his feet by Anakin's bear hug.

"I owe everything to you Master," said Anakin. Beaming, he led Padme out the door.


	11. Chapter 11

**Ch. 11**

"You certainly are a lucky one _Master_ Jedi," Padme emphasized, smiling at her husband. She kissed him lightly on the lips. "This night could have ruined your career, and somehow, out of luck, it bolstered it!"

"I can't even believe it Padme. It's like a dream come true, I… I never expected…Although, this will certainly make matters even worse when they find out about us and our child… a Jedi Master, having a wife and baby- it will certainly be shocking." Suddenly, he turned to his wife. "But Padme, angel, I'm so sorry… You must just be, you must be…"

"Devastated, yes," Padme responded. "Everything for which I fought has been destroyed…" She began to cry. "How can I raise my child in a universe at war, a galaxy under tyranny…where the troops," she sobbed, "kill their own people, innocent people." She was really a mess now. The more she thought about the events of the night, the worse it got. Her whole life, as she knew it, gone…

Anakin wrapped her tightly in his arms, "No Padme, the ideals you fought for still exist. Nothing you have done was in vain- the Jedi, we share those ideals. The good people we met tonight- they are living proof that the Universe, the Force, does not want evil in the galaxy. We will fight to our deaths to bring peace, and I will do everything in my power to keep our child safe and protected, and you as well. I would let nothing happen to you, Padme," He said.

"And the chancellor? I mean, he could be dead now, Anakin," cried Padme.

"That would be a shame. He was a dear friend," Anakin paused. "The council never trusted him though. They'll be sorry when they see he died fighting for democracy. Just like I fought for them tonight- they didn't trust me either!" Anakin was suddenly fuming, forgetting the ultimate trust that Master Windu had just placed in him.

Padme stared at her husband, suddenly cold and scared.

"Anakin, don't talk like that. Can you hear yourself? You were just made a Master. They trust you… Anakin please, you're scaring me." She had never seen him like this… although, when she thought about it, she had. She knew he had a lot of anger inside him - he had faced a very difficult life, and she had always tried to ignore his fits of rage. She had never seen what the Jedi Masters were talking about, his 'willingness to hate' but she saw it now, and it scared her to death.

Anakin suddenly caught himself, and realized he had let his emotions loose. He began to control them, calming himself with the Force. He reminded himself, as Padme had, that he had just been made a Master, had fought for democracy. And he knew that he chose that path- fighting alongside the only father he had ever known, Obi Wan, and fighting for his wife and child. He realized what a monster he had seemed in the past few months, always his mind in combat, always fuming because his powers weren't recognized.

"I'm so sorry Padme, I don't know what came over me," he reassured her. "I realize I've been difficult lately… but that's over now, I promise. I know that I fight for justice in the world… and love." He looked in to her eyes, and felt that her faith in him was restored.

"Oh, and Padme," he began, "Why did Mace Windu want you to talk to me?"  
"About your recklessness," Padme said, and she pointed a finger at him to tease him. Anakin kissed her finger in front of him

"I see," he said, more amused than annoyed.

Padme felt warm again, knowing that Anakin had seen a lot of death and destruction, and understanding that sometimes it became too much for him. She was just happy to have her loving husband back to help her deal with these difficult times.

"Well, m'lady, here we are," Anakin smiled at his wife. "I realize that it will be strange for you, sleeping in a Jedi's apartment," he joked. "But I assure you, I am here only to protect you. I am your bodyguard."  
"Oh, Master Jedi, please," Padme laughed. "I'm not uncomfortable at all, I know that you wouldn't try anything inappropriate with me."

They entered Anakin's apartment at the Jedi Temple. Anakin cringed, realizing how messy it was compared to Padme's beautiful home. His robes were, well, everywhere, and there were even some traces of dinner from two nights ago on the table. Oh well, if she loved him, and he knew she did, she would forgive the mess.

"I'm sorry Padme, its rather unkempt. I don't have a lady's touch here to help out."

"Well I'm certainly glad there aren't any other women in your life, Anakin," She joked. "You know I've never been here before, don't you?"

"What?" Anakin said, actually surprised.

"Well it's not as if I can go sneaking into the Jedi Temple, now can I?"

"Well then," he smiled mischievously at her, "I think it deserves a christening."

He picked her up, and carried her over to his bed. He lay her down, kissing her everywhere, feeling her soft skin against his own. He loved her so much; he loved every part of her. He couldn't believe the stroke of luck that had led her to his house. And now she was here with him, and no one would come to disturb them…

Padme sighed, almost annoyed at how much she loved Anakin when he was in this mood. She felt so awful, enjoying a night with her husband when half of her friends were probably dead or suffering. This night was not a time for romance; it was a time of sadness. She couldn't believe she was giving in to this, but the smile on her face was betraying the sadness in her mind.'Sith,' she thought, as she lost herself to Anakin's touch.

"Sith Anakin… this is no time for…" She couldn't talk anymore, lost in pleasure. She still felt wrong, but this comforted her, made her believe in love again. She needed this closeness, to be with someone, on a night such as this.

"Shut up," her husband told her. He began to undress her, slowly and lovingly, and before she could even think anymore, they were together, one soul, and all thought of the terrors of the night was gone from Padme's mind.


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch. 12**

Anakin awoke to find Padme gone from his side. Remembering the events of last night, he was extremely worried, and he immediately used the Force to try to sense her presence. This gave him no reassurance, for though she was nearby, her soul was utterly devastated, grieving. Although, given the circumstances, he supposed that was to be expected. He was devastated as well. He sensed her right outside the door, in his common room, and walked out to her.

"Good morning, Angel," he said sending her as much Force reassurance as he could. "What's wrong?"

The sight of Padme made him worry even more. She was curled up on the couch, her knees to her chest, sobbing and shaking. He walked over to her immediately, and wrapped his arms around her, not knowing what was wrong but wanting to help in any way possible.

"Everything," started Padme. "Anakin…" She thrust a newspaper in front of his face, unable to speak anymore. She collapsed into his arms, burying her head in his shoulder.

'Bail Organa Among Casualties of Last Nights Attacks,' was the first headline that came to Anakin's attention. His heart sank. What a horrible, horrible thing. Bail Organa had been a wonderful friend to him, and he knew that the man was like a second father to Padme. This was the first person Padme had asked about when she had been told of the attacks on the Senators- why did he have to be the one dead? Anakin's heart grieved for Bail, for the Organas, for Padme…

"That is horrible news. Bail Organa was a brilliant man…" Anakin said, tears forming in his eyes as well. "What a loss…"

"Just read on, Anakin," Padme said bitterly. "It only gets worse."

Anakin dreaded picking up the paper again, but he wanted to feel all that Padme was experiencing, so he read on. He was horrified- Jedi, Padawans, civilians- women and children- dead, injured, missing… The night had been far more disastrous than he had imagined. The Force felt heavy, grieving, and it all became too much for Anakin. He began to sob too, and he and Padme sat, wrapped in each other's arms, grieving for their galaxy.

And suddenly, things got worse.

Obi Wan Kenobi burst angrily through their door to find them in each other's arms, sobbing. And his face had no trace of pity- though it was full of sadness.

"Master…" Anakin began.

"Save it, Skywalker. Yes, the news this morning is terrible, we were all up at 0900, at the council meeting, discussing it. So far, you haven't proven yourself very well, _Master_," he said bitterly.

"Oh Force…" Anakin said out loud.

"Yes Anakin, the meeting. You know, it was _I_ who convinced them you were worthy of the council… Anakin how could you do this?"

"I am truly sorry Master… the Senator and I were overcome with grief, and…"

"Oh Anakin, give it up. I thought you had seen _all_ the headlines of this morning?"

Anakin gave him a look of complete confusion.

"Apparently not. You really think I would be this infuriated with you over missing a meeting? You miss meetings daily Anakin, and even the council could forgive deep grief on a morning such as this."

Anakin stared at his Master, suddenly very aware of how much more experienced of a Jedi was Obi Wan than he.

"Obi Wan, tell us, what's happened? What has Anakin done?" Padme asked, innocently.

"Well Mrs. Skywalker, it's more what the both of you have done together," spat Obi Wan, and he threw down another newspaper with the headline "Senator Amidala and Anakin Skywalker married."

Anakin and Padme froze.


	13. Chapter 13

**Ch. 13**

"I knew it. I've thought it for months now but…I didn't want to believe it Anakin, but seeing you two in each other's arms just now certainly didn't reassure me."

"Master… I- I'm sorry," Anakin muttered in resignation. He was almost relieved that the secret was out, although he didn't want his dearest friend to find out like this.

Padme just buried her head in Anakin's shoulder, and he held her close.

Padme knew she should say something, but she couldn't. She couldn't even look at Obi Wan. Why did everyone have to find out like this? Why did those people, whom she had thought so nice and trustworthy, have to turn out to be dishonest? She tried to hide her crying from Obi Wan, extremely grateful to Anakin for holding her head in his shoulder and dealing with the situation himself. She loved him so much- he always kept her protected when she needed to be. She was ashamed of herself at this moment, but she had never felt so emotional- the death and destruction that faced them, and now this. She simply couldn't control her emotions any more.

Anakin looked at his former Master, hoping only for forgiveness. He was ashamed that Obi Wan had to find out this way. He knew that Obi Wan could not possibly understand how important of a person he was in Anakin's life, not when Anakin had kept this from him for so long.

Obi Wan's expression softened- the sight was certainly a sad yet heartwarming one. The young woman's head buried in grief in her husband's shoulder, and he so loyal, so loving…and yet this was a Jedi! _His_ former Padawan…he couldn't help but feel betrayed.

Anakin's heart was broken to see the sadness in his Master's face. He knew that Obi Wan felt betrayed, and he hated that it was he who had caused it. He wished only for personal forgiveness, but simply couldn't find the right words. It was Obi Wan who began to speak, a tone of resignation and sadness in his voice.

"Anakin, I…" Obi Wan began, with a hint of compassion. "Why didn't you tell me? You could have come to me Anakin, you were like my own brother…"

"I was…" Anakin was suddenly ashamed to say it- Obi Wan clearly would have protected the secret, and now to tell him that he hadn't trusted him with it? But his days of lying to Obi Wan were over, so he gave his beloved Master the truth. "I was afraid you would tell the council," Anakin admitted, ashamedly.

Obi Wan just stared at him. He felt as if Anakin had never trusted him, and it hurt him deeply. However, as he thought about it, he may have told the council… but if Anakin had specifically asked him not to, he would have kept the boy's secret. 'Boy? He's not a boy anymore…' thought Obi Wan.

"Anakin, had you asked me to, specifically… I, I would have kept your secret," Obi Wan said.

"I wish I had told you," Anakin replied. "We could have used a friend. I'm so sorry you had to find out this way Master."

"Oh Anakin," began Obi Wan, annoyance not for Anakin, but for the circumstances, in his voice, "I knew before this _ridiculous_ headline." He said quickly.

"What?" Anakin gasped. So he had been right last night- Obi Wan had suspected them.

" I'll be honest with you Anakin, I suspected that you were the father of Padme's child-"

Padme gasped, interrupting him. "You… you know? But I haven't… I never…"

"Oh Padme, the whole council knows!"

"What?" Anakin yelled.

Obi Wan looked at him, honestly confused.

"Surely, Anakin, you feared that most Jedi would sense the presence of multiple personalities around Padme? You must have sensed it… the whole Jedi temple probably knows that Senator Amidala is with child."

Anakin stared blankly at Obi Wan. This was new. He had never even thought about it. He felt like an idiot for not having noticed it. But now that Obi Wan had told him, he distinctly could feel his child's presence. He smiled, despite everything.

"He's right, Padme, I can sense them!"

"Them?" She asked, in disbelief.

'Them?' he asked himself. "I'm sorry, I don't know why I…" he suddenly stopped speaking. He reached out again with the force… "Yes… them…"

"Yes, yes, Senator Amidala is carrying twins, Force sake Anakin I really thought more highly of you as a Jedi. We've known for months. Luckily, it appears that I was the only one who suspected you were the father- you've been deeply troubled ever since you returned home from our mission, and you're so close to Padme, it all seemed fitting. Anyway…"

But as Obi Wan talked, Padme and Anakin stared into each other's eyes. Twins! Neither could believe it. Suddenly, without giving any regard to Obi Wan Kenobi, they embraced each other, overjoyed at this news and forgetting all else.

Obi Wan was quick to interrupt their kiss. "Just because I know does not mean I am all right with this," he said sternly, and slightly awkwardly.

"Sorry Master," Anakin said, but he couldn't stifle a laugh. He felt like a little boy being reprimanded by his Master, but here he was about to be the father of two children. He was so happy…but he had to fix things with Obi Wan.

"Master, I'm so sorry I didn't tell you, but what would you have done in my position?" Anakin realized right after he asked it what a dumb question that was. "Of course, you wouldn't be in my position, I know, the code… But your duty would have been to tell the council, and I didn't want to ask you to put our trust and bond before your duty, I just didn't know what to do."

"I realize that I would have been in a difficult situation, as obviously you have been for…" Obi Wan looked at Padme, "some months now, I would assume… were you even married before…?"

"We've been married for three years Master," Anakin said, and as saddened as his heart was to see his Master hurt, the look on Obi Wan's face made Anakin overly proud and amused at how long they had kept this secret.

"Three… three… three years? Anakin, you were still my Padawan when you…" Obi Wan was speechless.

"I know Master, and I am sorry. But I love her, and I couldn't just bury that love. I couldn't, I'm sorry… I suppose I should resign from the Order now?"

Obi Wan felt completely idiotic- his Padawan had been married and he hadn't even known? Sure, after he had sensed that Padme was pregnant he had seriously considered that Anakin was the father, but that was just months ago. He hadn't even been sure, though he had hoped with all of his heart, that they were married. Three years? The galaxy certainly was falling apart. And yet, somehow, he was no longer mad at Anakin. He felt hurt, betrayed, yes, but he still felt compassion for the boy who he considered a son. And now, it was as if his son was all grown up, and married. He felt almost proud, even though it went against every rule and every moral he upheld.

"Listen to me Anakin," Obi Wan began, with the anger that was left in him, "You have made me look like a fool, first not showing up for the meeting after I supported your appointment to the council, and then for the planet to find out you're married just the night after you're made a Master! As your Master, I have utterly failed you…"

"No Master, I have failed you. You taught me everything, made me a powerful warrior, that was your duty. Nowhere in the code does it ask Masters to have to deal with their rebellious Padawans knocking up Senators. The only thing you had to do with this was teaching me about it when I was a teenager, as all Masters must. How could you have known?" Anakin smiled at Obi Wan, hoping he would lighten up at this humor.

And despite everything, Obi Wan laughed. However, he quickly turned stern again.

"The fact that you have been married three years and I only began to suspect it months ago, I consider failure on my part. The fact that we have just appointed you to the council when you have gone against everything in which the Jedi believe, just makes us all look like fools. Think of how I must look to the council, Anakin, and think how they must feel themselves!"

"Master Obi Wan," Padme began, and the two men turned to her, almost as if they had forgotten she was there. "Does everyone believe this headline? Coruscant is a central area for gossip and tabloids- we could brush this off as a rumor… we were seen in the bar together last night, and the Master's, including yourself, accepted our explanation…certainly intelligent people would believe that someone saw us together and simply invented this- we can use the alibi that we used on all of you last night, you all believed us, and-"

Obi Wan interrupted her. "Just to be clear, I did not believe you. I was convinced, at that point, of some degree of involvement between the two of you. I certainly was sure that Anakin was the father of your children. But I kept quiet, because I wasn't 100 percent sure. This morning's headline, as you had the unfortunate opportunity of witnessing, pushed me over the edge." Obi Wan paused, then continued, "But I think you are right, Senator. Always the politician, you find a way around the truth… The intelligent people of the planet won't believe this, and hopefully the paper does not circulate off-planet. You two are in charge of some sort of public denial of this situation, Padme, you should probably say something in the Senate- or what's left of it." They nodded, and Anakin smiled.

"Master," began Anakin, "Are you saying that you are willing to help us?" The young Jedi was overjoyed, and also very proud of his wife's brilliance in figuring this out.  
Obi Wan sighed. "I _should_ tell the council, especially because you have just been appointed to it. I wish there was some way for me to take you off the council without telling anyone of the situation or getting you expelled from the order," he looked sternly at Anakin, "you realize that you do not deserve the honor we just bestowed upon you last night."

Anakin nodded, sadly. Though he knew Obi Wan's words to be true, it still hurt that the confidence his Master had shown in him was diminished.

"However," continued Obi wan, "That is, unfortunately, impossible, so things will have to continue as they did. I want to be clear- I will keep your secret as long as you can Anakin. But I hope you two both realize that it can't be kept for long. I feel deep empathy for the two of you when the time comes to tell the galaxy of this turn of events. You're on your own there. And don't interpret this to mean that I am 'helping' you. I'm not going to help you sneak around together. Do what you've been doing and hope that no one else finds out. And don't let me _ever_," he paused, "_ever_, catch you… together." He looked at them sternly, but both could see the amused twinkle in his eye.

Anakin began to laugh, but stopped quickly. He went to hug Obi Wan, but Obi Wan didn't return the hug. "I'm still not pleased with you Anakin. You have broken the law." Obi Wan did manage a small smile for his former apprentice. "Now, go comfort your wife, for the day has not brought good news to the galaxy. I will tell the Masters that you two confirmed it was just a rumor, as they hoped."

He turned to go out the door, then turned back to them. "And don't expect me to lie for you again after that," he said, and he was gone.


	14. Chapter 14

Here is the longest chapter I've yet written! It's sort of cheesy, but hopefully more sweet and happy than cheesy. And then we get to some real fighting next, so enjoy the quiet chapter while it is here!

**Ch. 14**

Anakin and Padme sat together in silence. They were still wrapped in each other's arms, but they were lost in their own thoughts. Just being close to one another kept them feeling safe. The past twenty-four hours had been an emotional roller coaster for both of them, filled with extreme happiness and devastating pain.

Anakin was so grateful to Obi Wan for his understanding- he wished that he had told his friend long ago about their situation. He was ashamed and saddened to have betrayed Obi Wan's trust, and he knew that Obi Wan was hurt by it. But now, they had another ally, and the best one they could possibly have. And Anakin would prove himself on the council, end the war and bring peace and make sure that Obi Wan again believed that he deserved the honor.

Padme had stopped crying. She was constantly struggling between devastation and exhilaration, and so she now was simply lost in her own thoughts, unsure of how to act. Thank Goodness for Obi Wan- she had known all along that he would have kept their secret, but she would never have betrayed Anakin's trust by telling him. She felt pleased with herself that in this situation, she had proved Anakin wrong. She hoped that this would help her husband to take a step away from hate and anxiousness, and move him further towards trusting his friends. She was grateful to have Obi Wan on their side, and she could see that he couldn't help but be proud of his former Padawan.

'Twins,' thought Anakin… he couldn't believe it. Now he had to be a father to two children? It would certainly be a challenge, but he couldn't wait. He could deal with the council, deal with the universe finding out their secret- he just wanted to be with his family. Family- the word rang in his ears like beautiful music- he had never really had one. His mother and he had loved each other deeply, but she had been all that he had, and was ripped from him far too soon. He hadn't had siblings, or a father, or his grandparents, or even close family friends other than his own young companions. And now, he had a beautiful wife, and two children whom they could raise together. And he would never, _never_, let them get hurt.

Padme couldn't believe she would be having twins. She was overjoyed- and glad she had found out _after_ telling Anakin and having his support. Had she found out alone, she would have been very nervous, but with Anakin she knew that they would be extremely happy. His love kept her strong. She didn't relish the idea of giving birth twice within minutes, but otherwise, she couldn't wait until her children arrived. She was now excited to be starting her family… family! 'Oh no,' thought Padme. She had never told her family she was even married- imagine the shock of her parents upon learning that their little girl was pregnant with twins…

Anakin's thoughts then turned to the war. He couldn't believe the devastation. He had always known that the real enemy of the Republic was someone other than the Separatists, but he hadn't expected that person to act so soon. He knew that the Jedi Masters believed it was a Sith… he hoped they would not be facing a Dark Lord, but if they were, he was ready to put all of his energy into defeating him so that his children could grow up in a world of peace. He grieved for the dead, especially Bail, and resolved to fight in their honor, and to protect his family.

Padme couldn't stop thinking about Bail Organa and the other Senators. All those she had worked with, everyone whom she had respected and looked up to and even those she had disagreed with, she grieved for. Some had survived, but the troops had done a thorough job. She couldn't believe her simple luck that she hadn't been home- she hadn't yet been back to her apartment but she imagined they would have torn it apart. She began to cry again, silent tears, for her lost friends, and felt Anakin reassure her through the Force and tighten his physical grip around her.

But there was one thing that she couldn't get over…

Padme began to sob, growing increasingly emotional.

"Padme, Angel?" Anakin began softly, "What are you thinking about?"

"I was thinking about everything Anakin- everyone dead, missing, our troops turning on us…" She paused, "And I was thinking about the people…The people that told about us. Last night you said-" She paused, unable to talk for a minute, "You said how the good people in that bar were, were…living, living proof that the Universe and the Force do not want evil in the galaxy… and that filled me with hope, but then someone betrayed us," she choked out. Through thick tears, she asked her Jedi, "Is there no good left in the galaxy?"

As Padme sobbed, Anakin's own soul grew increasingly heavy and sad. He knew that there was good in the galaxy, in the Jedi and the ideals the Republic had fought for- in his wife and unborn children, and anyone who loved anywhere in the galaxy. He had to help her see this, but he knew that words were not enough. He wanted only for her to share in the hope that he had- and suddenly, an idea struck him.

"Padme, there is good left. There is love and happiness, and there are beings willing to fight for freedom from every corner of the galaxy…" He paused, looking into the eyes of his wife and using the force to reassure her. "Padme, I think it would be good for us to get dressed and get out of the apartment…just to get breakfast," he began, not wanting to spoil his true motive before she saw it herself. "You must put the sad news at the back of your mind, and calm yourself, give yourself hope. We've got to prepare ourselves for the day to come- hopefully this war will be over soon, and our friends will be avenged."

Padme looked up at him, and saw love and reassurance in his eyes. She knew that he was right, and they needed to get out and help instead of sitting inside and mourning. "Maybe you're right. It would be good for us to talk to some other people about the situation. Where shall we go?"

Anakin smiled. "Well, in the temple there's only one place to go, and we will certainly get a… variety of opinions from different vantage points."

She looked at him, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"All Jedi eat in the cafeteria," he smiled, "as do Padawans and Younglings. Their opinions are always interesting- you will see the good in the galaxy there. I promise it will renew your faith in democracy and love."

She smiled at him. "Well then, let's go. But just so that it is clear- I never lost my faith in love. You are always there to keep that alive." She kissed him lightly, and let her business-oriented side take over. "Hopefully the other Masters will be there as well…and now, I'll get to see where you run off to every day." She smiled at him.

"Yes, I definitely need to be filled in on what I missed from the meeting this morning. Although many Jedi are probably already on assignments throughout the planet today," he paused. "It will be a quick breakfast for us all. Padme- you must realize that I will have to leave you today to fight- hopefully, this war will be over soon."

She knew this to be true, but she was still upset that he wouldn't be by her side. "Of course Anakin- the galaxy needs you." She smiled at him, and he gave her a hug.

They dressed and walked through the Temple to the cafeteria.

"Welcome to my life," Anakin said, as they entered a room filled with more Jedi than Padme had ever seen in one room. Younglings were everywhere, laughing and talking, but most of them were whispering nervously, wide-eyed, obviously having been told about the events of the night before. Teenage Padawans sat at the far end of the cafeteria, each one sharing a story of a droid or clone that he had killed the night before. Many of them had just experienced their first real combat- the boys tried to impress the girls with their stories, though the girls usually had equally if not more impressive stories to retort. The Jedi Knights were scattered throughout the cafeteria, mostly sitting in groups together but some sitting around telling stories to Younglings, or filling them in on what had happened last night. A few Masters were scattered throughout the cafeteria- one sat at a table full of four-year-old Younglings, teaching them quickly and nervously how to use the Force as a shield in case they fell under attack.

Something about this scene made Padme very emotional, but in a much more positive sense than her emotions of the morning. Something here was so pure, so beautiful- she suddenly understood that her world had not been destroyed. The future was in this room- Younglings as little as two were already wide-eyed and hopeful as older Jedi led them around. Creatures from every edge of the galaxy, hundreds of different species, mingled with mutual respect and friendship. They were ready to fight for what was right in the world, and Padme was suddenly filled with hope, knowing that they would avenge the memory of those who had died. She was amazed that this was the daily routine for Anakin- it was no wonder that he was always so ready for anything. It was such a nurturing place- she now understood how the little slave boy they had rescued from Tatooine had become this powerful, confident, loving, optimistic, mature man. Well… mature sometimes, at least.

Anakin could sense her emotion, and was glad to know that his idea had worked. He knew that the Force was so calm and positive in the biggest room in the Jedi temple that it would touch Padme. This was the only place where Jedi of all ages came together regularly. There was something soothing about beings of all ages and species, all devoted to peace, brought together over something as simple as eating.

"I told you this would give you hope," he said, and he put his arms on her shoulders, remembering to keep cordial because the secret was not out yet.

"Anakin-" Padme began, but couldn't find the words to express what she was thinking. "Thank you." He smiled at her, and she followed him in through the entrance arch.

As Anakin Skywalker entered the cafeteria, many heads turned, mostly from the younger Jedi. Little girls giggled and whispered to each other when they saw him, and the teenage girls blushed. The boys talked excitedly, each one claiming they knew more about his latest missions with Master Kenobi, each trying to prove that the knew Anakin better. Littler boys rushed up to him with their training light sabers challenging him to duels. He laughed, and obliged them to a second or two of combat.

Padme felt suddenly as if she was floating on air. Why had Anakin ever doubted that he would be a good father? The children here adored him, and he was so good with them, of all ages. What was more, he seemed to know them all. Each boy who approached him for a duel he addressed by name. He waved at several of the giggling little girls. She smiled up at her husband, and had never felt happier in his presence. Hope certainly did exist in this galaxy. She smiled as a female Youngling, who couldn't have been more than five, approached her husband.

"Hello Master Skywalker," said the girl, who still had trouble pronouncing her R's.

"Eivyn Starsearcher, what a pleasure," Anakin replied, smiling to her.

The girl giggled to a friend standing behind her. The friend whispered something to her. The girl giggled uncontrollably, and blushed, shaking her head. The friend urged her on, and the two girls giggled again as Eivyn gave in to her friend's prodding.

"Is that your girlfriend?" Giggled Eivyn, pointing at Padme.

Padme laughed, smiling warmly at the girl, as Eivyyn and her friend ran away giggling and saying "eww". Padme sensed that Anakin was quite the rage around here.

Anakin blushed, and looked at Padme. "I'm sorry I probably should have warned you that I'm apparently popular with the Youngling girls…" he said.

"Anakin, it's adorable." Padme smiled. "She's quite a lady though, are you sure she's not going to steal you away?" She joked.

"Never," said Anakin quietly, restraining his urge to embrace Padme.

"You were right Anakin, this did cheer me up." She said, smiling.

A little boy, about 8 years old, now approached him, cautiously but determinedly.

"Master Skywalker, Master Skywalker, guess what?" said the boy excitedly.

"Yes Aiken?"

The boy dove into a story without pausing for breath. "Last night, in the battle, I was outside with my Master doing Force exercises, and he yelled 'Go inside Aiken, to the High Council Room!' But when I turned around, there was a storm trooper in front of me, and I used the trick that you taught me when you found me lost in the gardens and I was sad so you taught me to cheer me up, anyway I flipped over him and cut his hand with my light saber, so he was distracted, and then I got inside!" He finished, out of breath, waiting anxiously for approval from his hero.

"Well done Aiken! I told you that you could master the flip, if you practiced enough. You're well ahead of where I was at your age," Anakin said, and the boy looked half like he was very proud, and half like he might faint. "You know, I didn't even start training until I was nine," Anakin continued. "Keep up your progress and you will be a wonderful Master some day."

"Thank you Master," the boy said in disbelief, and just as it looked like he really might faint from excitement, he ran off.

Suddenly, Obi Wan and several other Masters burst into the room. This time, as Obi Wan approached Anakin and Padme, his face was full of compassion for them, but also of great alarm.

"I'm so sorry," he sputtered, quickly, "Anakin- we need you. The time is now. The clones are… it's… just take the Younglings to the safety of the High Council Room. I will call you through the Force if we need you but for now I want you to protect them. Please, hurry." Obi Wan ran around telling younglings to follow Master Skywalker, but Anakin stopped dead in his tracks, in angry shock.

Anakin fumed, ready for action, filling with anger at the Masters. After all of this, after he had finally been made a Master, he was being asked to stay in hiding with the Younglings? Why? Was this some kind of sick way of Obi Wan's to punish him? He wanted to fight; he was the Chosen One, why should he stand around uselessly while the others fought.

"Obi Wan, what is going on," he yelled. "Why can't I come with you? I want to fight- I need to fight!" He fumed. "This is humiliating, after you all finally thought I was a worthy Jedi, I'm being made to stand around like a Youngling. Why don't you trust me?" He couldn't control himself, he was enraged.

"Anakin, trust is not the matter at hand here, we simply felt it was best to-"

"The council _always_ thinks its best for me to stay behind. How could you let this happen Obi Wan?" Anakin yelled.

"Anakin, would you listen to me. We aren't putting you on some useless job, we simply thought that…"

"That my '_rage_' or '_recklessness_' would get in the way? That's how it's always been, hasn't it."

"Well look at yourself now," said a much higher, softer voice. Obi Wan and Anakin turned to Padme. "You're trying to argue that rage wouldn't get the better of you, and yet here you are, fuming at a man who just saved both of our reputations _and_ pushed your appointment to the council. Would you listen to yourself?"

Anakin stopped, his wife's words ringing in his ears. He still couldn't understand why he was being left behind, but Padme was always a source of calm for him.

"I'm sorry," he said more calmly. "I just don't understand why I-"

Padme interrupted him. "Maybe you should listen to Obi Wan. He was trying to explain himself."

"Anakin," Obi Wan began timidly, and Anakin suddenly realized that Padme and the Younglings were looking at him with fear in their eyes. He turned to Obi Wan, and was shocked to see that his former Master looked at him in the exact same way.

"Yes, Master, I'm sorry… please, I will do whatever the Council thinks best," he said looking at the ground, unable to meet the fearful eyes of those around him.

"We think it is best for you to stay with the Younglings because the sheer mass of the troops suggests that they _will_ break in to the Temple. You are the best defensive fighter we have- you seem to be able to sense every single being attacking you and those you care about, no matter the number. Your…passion," he said, avoiding the words 'rage' or 'recklessness' with the utmost care, " for whatever you are doing gives you the ability to mass-slaughter a large amount of the enemy, and the Younglings will not be able to assist whomever is with them, so this is a valuable trait. You are also," he said forcefully, "one of the best aggressive fighters we have, but the truth is that no one could defend the Younglings as well as you could. I will call you with the Force if we are holding the enemy off from the Temple and could use you outside. Now Please, Anakin, before we waste any more time. Go. And take Padme with you."

"Of course Master…I'm sorry."

Obi wan moved closer to Anakin and Padme, and whispered so that the Youngling's could not hear, "If you ask me, you two are extremely lucky that we are in a state of anarchy right now. Everyone is so confused that most people aren't thinking about this morning's headline. The Masters believe that it is a rumor, and even those who don't kept quiet- we all know that we need Anakin in this war. When it ends though… you're going to have to face this situation, and I don't envy you that. Now go."

Anakin and Padme nodded and thanked Obi Wan. Anakin turned to the Younglings. "I promise I will keep you safe if it costs me my own life. I never meant to scare you," he looked into the eyes of the small children in front of him. "I just was very eager to fight for your safety. Now follow me." He took the hands of the two children closest to him, and Padme did the same, as they led them to the High Council Room.

. Obi Wan was taken aback at the look in Anakin's eyes just minutes ago- he had never understood how to calm him down. He was amazed at Padme's ability to understand Anakin as no one else had ever been able to. Anakin was very difficult much of the time, yet Padme seemed to truly love him through all of that, and she succeeded in turning his thoughts away from anger and hate where Jedi Masters failed. 'Maybe it is a good thing that he is married,' thought Obi Wan, 'Padme seems to be the only person in the galaxy who can deal with him, and his deep love for her keeps his passion in the right place. He's lucky to have her, though I will never understand their relationship.' Grateful to the senator, and happy that Anakin had someone that kept him in line both when he was being immature and when he was enraged to the point of being dangerous, Obi wan pledged to defend that secret as long as he could. Convinced now that his former Padawan had the Younglings under control and that they would be extremely safe under Anakin's care, he headed into battle.


	15. Chapter 15

A.N. Someone asked about Yoda and I realized I hadn't put him in at all! Maybe I was just afraid to try to write in 'Yoda speak'. Anyway, he'll be in the next few chapters, I promise!

**Ch. 15**

Obi Wan Kenobi ran outside of the Jedi temple to meet with the rest of the Jedi fighting force as they held off the recently treacherous clone troops. Obi Wan and many other Jedi were able to make quick work of what remained of the Separatist droid army, now apparently in some sort of alliance with the clones. They were able to easily deflect most of the clones too, and as battle raged the Jedi casualties were far fewer than the casualties of their opponents. However, the fact that the entire Planet of Coruscant was in the middle of what could possibly be the biggest war of all time for the galaxy was a nightmare. Several Jedi were distributed throughout the galaxy, but for some reason whatever enemy was behind the start of this battle seemed to be focusing mainly on conquering Coruscant. The battles in the Outer Rim, where the Jedi had predicted the war would rage, remained few, and the Jedi easily defeated their opponents there. In between the core and the Outer Rim, there was almost no action.

Here, however, was a different case. Obi Wan flipped around, deflecting blasts from every angle, and became confident that the Jedi around him could hold these troops back from the Jedi temple. Continuing to deflect blasts and kill any clones directly in his path, Obi Wan tried to find the other Masters. Yoda () had told them to rendezvous at the Senate, though Obi Wan couldn't see why. Most of the Senators were missing or had been killed, and those that remained were certainly allies… weren't they? Hoping that everyone in the Republic hadn't turned against them, Obi Wan raced to the Senate buildings.

Finally, he approached the entrance hall and saw Yoda and Mace Windu standing next to one of the giant pillars. Just as he thought he could lower his defenses, a blast caught him on the hand.

"Augh!" He yelled, and whipped around, light saber blazing.

Five clone soldiers surrounded him. The apparently thought they had the upper hand, all but one lowering their blasters and preparing to capture him. Obi Wan had a moment to wonder why they didn't try to kill him, and realized that someone must want the Jedi Masters alive. However, he soon snapped out of his thoughts and cut off the hand of the soldier holding his weapon in front of him. The others suddenly realized they had been over confident, and as Obi Wan flipped around deflecting their blasts, he managed to Force grab two of their blasters and threw them on the ground. He quickly turned to the other two and killed them both with one slice of his weapon. Rounding on the injured and unarmed three that remained, he made quick work of two and brought the one with a missing arm with him up to the entrance hall.

Yoda and Mace just watched, almost amused that just five soldiers had thought they could handle a Jedi Master.

"Well," said Obi Wan with a twinkle in his eye, "that certainly got me warmed up. To update you on what's happening elsewhere, the Jedi are doing well in front of the Temple and I think they can hold them off. I believe that most civilians are in the underground bunkers, and we have already killed the last of the remaining battle droids. We are doing well against the clones, but they are numerous. Our warriors alone cannot hold off all of these armies. We must get to their leaders and defeat them, that appears to be the only way we could possibly win," Obi Wan told them. "I was hoping that he," Obi Wan forced his captive in front of him, "could tell us something."

"The reason of my calling you here, you have found. A new enemy, we have," said Yoda.

"You have found their leader already?" Asked Obi Wan in surprise.

"Behind the betrayal of the clones, he is." Yoda confirmed.

"How do you know?"  
"A suspicion I have. Proof only by my own observance of him, and confidence in my feelings of the Force. Prove his betrayal, we must." Yoda said.

"Who is it?" Asked Obi Wan, ready to take on the world if it meant peace for the galaxy.

"Saddening news is this, be ready you must."

"We are ready for anything, Master Yoda." Mace Windu replied.

"Chancellor Palpatine, our enemy is."

Obi Wan and Mace Windu stared at Yoda in surprise, but not disbelief. The Council had suspected Palpatine for some time, and it seemed that Anakin Skywalker was the only one who trusted him at all. It was shocking to hear their suspicions voiced aloud, but they were ready for him.

Obi Wan turned to the clone. "Tell us what you know."  
"Nothing, Master Jedi. Our orders are coming from a new source, but I do not know who. All I know is that most of us believed this was a move of the Republic- we were only doing our duty!" The clone was desperate, almost pleading.

Mace held his light saber up to the man's neck.

"Still know nothing?" he asked menacingly.

"We work for the Republic! We just follow orders!"

"Sure, and killing Jedi and civilians is for the Republic," spat Obi Wan.

"Useful, he will not be." Yoda said.

Obi Wan was about to kill the clone, but simply pushed him out of the way.

"Go," said the Jedi, and the clone stumbled off.

They turned back to Yoda.

"Are we going to arrest the Chancellor now, then?" Obi Wan asked.

"No," began Yoda. "More complex, the situation is. The Chancellor- A Sith lord is he."

Again, they stared at Yoda, this time far more shocked, but still not completely surprised.

"Are you sure of this, Master Yoda?" Asked Mace.

"Felt the Dark Side surrounding him, have I. Had him followed, I did. Suspicious, his behavior is. Certain am I that he knows the ways of the Force. Uses it, he does, to corrupt certain weak-minded Senators. Taken control of the Republic, has he."  
"He has certainly been gaining power and implementing new rules in his favor ever since he was elected. But what do you suggest we do? Certainly three Jedi Masters can take on a Sith." Mace said confidently.

"No physical proof, have we yet."

"How do you intend to incriminate him?" Obi Wan asked.

"Admit to his powers, he must, to someone he trusts."

"Who do you suggest?" Asked Obi Wan, already fairly confident of the answer.

"Your former Padawan, you must summon." Replied Yoda.

Suddenly, several clones attacked the Masters. As Mace and Yoda battled, Obi Wan raced inside to call Anakin.


	16. Chapter 16

A.N. The beginning of this Chapter is how I wish the scene at ROTS had gone (you'll know when you read it). We can just pretend it happened this way.

**Ch. 16**

Anakin and Padme raced the Younglings up to the High Council Room. The Jedi used this room as sort of a safety bunker. Even though it was high above ground, it was the safest room in the Temple because it was hard to find. Complex passages and stairwells led to the room, and it was so difficult to get to that unless a Jedi knew where he or she was going, it would be nearly impossible to find. The main reason behind this design had originally been to keep nosy Padawans and Younglings who were exploring the temple from constantly interrupting meetings. However, it had proven quite useful as a hiding place in case of emergency. The thought of keeping younger Jedi away had been abandoned, and they now practiced drills to get up there just in case of attack, though never before had this training been needed.

When they entered the room, Anakin found at least fifteen Younglings already cowering behind the Masters chairs. As he and Padme entered, the eyes of the children grew wide with fear and relief. A brave young boy walked out and looked at Anakin straight in the eye.

"Master Skywalker, there's to many of them! What are we going to do?" He asked, the fear evident in his small voice.

Anakin took out his light saber and sat down in front of the boy.

"We're going to wait here, young one. And if any troops enter this room, I will keep you safe if it kills me. You have my word." Anakin turned to the boy and gave him a smile. He then looked to the others cowering behind the chairs.

"It's all right, you can all come out. You're safe now."

With that, Padme and the other Younglings entered the room. It was a tight squeeze with almost fifty children plus Anakin and Padme in the small room, but everyone had ample room to stretch out. Soon enough, Younglings were actually enjoying themselves, playing with each other and looking at Anakin, many of their hero, with awe. Clearly, most of them found their situation quite lucky that of all the places Anakin Skywalker could be, he was right there protecting all of them.

Anakin too, began to relax. He had thought that he would hate sitting this battle out, but it was actually kind of relaxing. Had he been alone with the Younglings, he probably would have been anxious to be out fighting, but he was glad to be near Padme and protecting her as well. Knowing that his wife and the future of his family, as well as the future of his extended family, the Jedi, were all safe with him filled him with warmth. He knew that they would win this war and restore a peaceful government to the now almost anarchical planet and galaxy.

He was, of course, ready to jump up in a second if Obi Wan summoned him, but for now he would enjoy being with his wife and the little ones. Looking at his wife sitting with two Younglings on her lap, he realized what a wonderful mother she would be to their twins. She looked so happy with the children, and her maternal instinct was clearly starting to kick in, despite her continual worries about her young age and their being unprepared, and of course the whole Senator/Jedi thing. He knew she was enjoying herself with the Younglings at this moment.

Padme sat with two children on her lap and smiled. She looked at Anakin, and his eyes showed so much love for her and for all the Younglings that she couldn't help but be happy, even despite all of this. She felt, for the first time, really ready for her own children. She knew that this was a moment she and Anakin wouldn't forget- sitting here with children on the way in just a few months, bonding with children who would never really know their parents. She smiled at Anakin, and he scooted closer to her and put his arm around her shoulder. He figured that the news was going to have to come out after the war anyway, and children under 8 weren't exactly going to care about the scandal.

"Anakin, not here," Padme began, but her actions betrayed her words as she snuggled into his arm. She, too, knew that their secret was pretty much at its end.

Younglings started to giggle, looking at them, and Anakin and Padme just smiled.

Eivyn Starsearcher, the little girl from the cafeteria, spoke up again.

"See, she is your girlfriend, isn't she?" She asked sweetly.

"You could say so," said Anakin jokingly, and he looked at Padme and kissed her quickly.

He suddenly regretted it, because this just gave the Younglings fuel to ask more questions. The children giggled, and several made repulsed faces.

"Ew," said Eivyn. "You kissed her. That's gross."

Padme and Anakin laughed.

"You won't think so when you're older, Eivyn," Padme said to her, smiling.

"Yes I will, always, always I will." Replied the little girl.

"Well it's good you think so now," Padme laughed. She turned to Anakin. "We're going to have to prepare for this with ours, Anakin," Padme said to him. "We'll have to be a little more careful with what we do at home."

He smiled at her. "Just as long as we get our time together," he said, and squeezed her shoulder.

"Your what?" Eivyn asked, referring to Padme's comment. Many children gathered around them as if they were telling a story.

Anakin and Padme looked at each other, figuring it wasn't worth it to lie to the kids, they would be telling everyone after this war anyway, which looked to be ending pretty soon.

"Our own children," Padme began.

"Jedi aren't supposed to have children, Master Skywalker," said one little boy.

Padme laughed out loud now, and Anakin gave her a glare.

"When you get reprimanded by the Younglings, you know you're in trouble, Master Skywalker." Padme said to him, smiling.

Anakin looked at the child, and talked to him as if he were also seven and trying to prove the other boy wrong. "Well, maybe that rule will change soon, if I prove that it's not fueling emotions that would turn me to the…never mind," said Anakin, realizing the children had no idea what he's talking about anyway, and didn't really care. They weren't looking at him anymore anyway; they were more fascinated with Padme's stomach. Someone had obviously already filled most of them in that babies grew in the mother's stomachs.

"So you have a baby in there?" Eivyn asked, putting her hand on Padme's stomach.

Something about the touch of the child was very soothing- Padme thought about how her own children, who weren't even born yet, would be inquisitive and adorable five year olds like Eivyn one day. She smiled warmly at the girl, and pulled her on to her lap.

"Yes, they are in there," Padme replied, and more of the children gathered around her. "We're having twins."

"They're not gonna be born now or anything," confirmed a very small boy who looked disgusted by the entire matter.

"No, not now. Don't worry," laughed Padme.

Anakin turned to Padme, and put his arm around her to place his hand on her stomach. Padme looked up and smiled at him. He suddenly realized he had never done that before. He looked at the five year old in front of him, wondering why she had thought of it first.

"So you really have babies in there," he said, and kissed Padme.

Eivyn hopped off of her lap quickly.

"You're going to have to stop that, now," she said.

Anakin laughed- at the little girl, at his impeding fatherhood, at the entire situation, never taking his hand from around Padme where it rested on her stomach. The fact that he was babysitting Younglings was suddenly very funny to him. He always talked to them in the cafeteria, but since he _was_ their age he had never really spent very much time with children. The sudden realization that not only did he feel fairly comfortable with them, but that he was able to interact with them, comforted him. He suddenly couldn't wait to meet the innocent faces of his own two children. He wondered what they would always be asking about, how they would interact with him. He suddenly realized that, as devastated as he would be if the Order expelled him, he would eventually be ok. He would certainly miss his Jedi work, but he knew that his wife and children would be enough to fulfill him after his life of defending the galaxy was over.

Padme, too, felt tremendous warmth and happiness around these children in whom the Force was so strong with positive energy. She wondered if her children would be Force-sensitive. She would love them either way, and it really made no difference to her, but she would somehow have to make sure that she could see them often if they were to be Jedi. She would love them to be inquisitive little Younglings like these ones, as long as they weren't taken from her. She knew that that was generally against the rules, but so was all of this anyway. Maybe, after this war, the rules could change. Right now, Padme enjoyed this time with her husband and the many children around her.

But, like all good things, the moment had to come to an end. Anakin suddenly got a holo message from Obi Wan. Padme sighed. She had been expecting this, but was still sad to see it come so quickly. Anakin jumped to attention.

"Anakin, we need you at the Senate buildings right away. The Jedi in front of the temple are holding off the troops, the Younglings should be very safe. Just in case, I will send another Jedi up in a few minutes. Give Padme a blaster, to be extra safe in the time between when you leave and when he arrives."

"What's happening Master?"

"Just meet us here as soon as possible, and Yoda will explain everything to you."

"I'm on my way," Anakin said, ending the message.

This time, Younglings or not, Anakin pulled Padme to her feet and embraced her as a child rolled off her lap and onto the ground, laughing. As he kissed her passionately, running his fingers through her hair, a chorus of "eww" met his ears, and he laughed. As he kissed his wife, he savored every moment of it. Even the over-confident Anakin Skywalker didn't want to take any chances of not giving a proper goodbye to the person he loved the most dearly in the world. He didn't believe he could ever be hurt- but just in case, he wanted Padme to know-

"I love you," he said simply, breaking the kiss. "More than you will ever know. Be careful Padme, I will come back as soon as I can. And watch the children." He paused. "By the way, you are going to be a fantastic mother."

"Anakin, be careful- you have to come back to me, I can't lose you, I-"

He interrupted her. "Padme, I will be fine. I promise."

"Anakin I love you too, so incredibly much. I didn't think it was possible to love someone so much. And seeing you with the Younglings- I know you will be a fabulous father, and I know that our babies need you. Please come back safely Anakin…"

He broke her off with another kiss, and he tried to pour all his love for her into this last moment together. He turned quickly around, unable to look back for fear he would never be able to leave if he saw her again, and walked out the door.

Padme sighed, and sank back to the ground, praying that he would be all right.

"Why does he do that to you?" Eivyn asked, scrunching her nose up.

Padme paused, and stared at the child. "Because he loves me," she said, "and I love him."

"Don't worry," said one little boy. "Master Skywalker is the best Jedi ever. He can't get hurt, I bet he kills _all_ the clones and is back before you even know it!"

Padme looked at the child, knowing that he would never understand how much those words meant to her. She pulled him in to a hug, and he scrunched his nose up but smiled. Then he scampered away as the kids all looked at each other confused, and resumed playing their games.

Ok, so that was really mushy, but I love that stuff! I hope you do too. Thanks for all the reviews, I love them! Next chapter soon, I hope, but I'm back in school now, which means work. After this, the war gets really intense, but I don't like writing that as much and I'm not as good at it so I'm going to make it end hopefully within a few chapters. I'll try to make it good though!


	17. Chapter 17

**Ch. 17**

"Where is Anakin? We can't hold them off forever!" Shouted Mace Windu, as he, Yoda, and Obi-Wan Kenobi continued to deflect blasts from the Clone troops, attempting to block the troops from the entrance into the Senate buildings. "We have to get to Palpatine now!"

The other two Jedi Masters heartily agreed, but it all depended on how fast Anakin Skywalker could get there. Obi-Wan just hoped that Anakin wasn't torn between leaving Padme and aiding them. He knew that the other Masters guessed that the alleged 'rumor' was actually very true, but he didn't think they understood the extent of Anakin's feelings for Padme. Obi-Wan knew his former Padawan had been almost obsessed with Padme since he was a boy, and now that they had let him in on their secret he could see the passion in Anakin's eyes when he looked at his wife. He knew that she was good for Anakin on a personal level- she could control his impulsiveness, as well as his occasional rage, and she also was able to just ignore Anakin when he was being immature or childish. However, he didn't know if the couple would be able to prove that the relationship was good for them in terms of their work, and he knew that Anakin would have to do so if he wanted to remain on the Council.

For now, Obi-Wan knew he had to stop worrying about this and just hope that Anakin would get there soon. It was true that they couldn't hold of the clones forever. There were hundreds of them, and they greatly outnumbered the Jedi. So far, the Jedi were holding their own and hundreds of clones had already fallen, but just by sheer numbers the clones would win this war unless they could get to their leader. Yoda believed that this leader was Chancellor Palpatine, that Palpatine was the Sith lord whom they had been looking for. Frankly, Obi-Wan agreed, but he knew it would be difficult to convince Anakin.

"It will be difficult to convince Anakin of the Chancellor's betrayal," Obi Wan said warily.

"Need to convince him, we do not," said Yoda, as they still whipped around blocking blasts and trying to hide behind the pillars. "Proof he will give us. Try to turn Anakin, the Chancellor will."

This was news to Obi-Wan. He knew that Anakin and the Chancellor had been friends, but he didn't think the relationship was intimate enough for Palpatine to turn Anakin to the Dark Side. This worried him greatly, for there were many things a Sith could say to a young and impulsive Jedi that would convince him to turn. And if Palpatine knew about Padme… Obi-Wan knew Anakin was in trouble. His friend's heart was pure, but he had many qualities of the Dark Side already in him. Obi-Wan just hoped that whatever 'proof' Yoda was looking for would be found soon, and Anakin wouldn't have to suffer the mental tribulation of battling between light and dark in his mind.

Anakin Skywalker ran outside of the Jedi temple, and stopped, his breath caught in his throat. He saw maybe a couple hundred Jedi, scattered throughout what had to be a thousand or more clone troops. He suddenly doubted seriously the confidence that Obi-Wan had held earlier. They were losing this battle, and Padme and the Younglings would not be safe for much longer.

A blast nicked Anakin in the shoulder. "Sith!" He yelled, grabbing his arm and igniting his light saber. He examined the wound while deflecting more blasts using purely the Force, and found it was just a superficial scrape. He charged into the mess, killing every clone trooper in his path. How were they going to defeat all of these troops? Jedi were far more powerful and skilled, but there were so many of their enemies! He hoped that Obi-Wan had some sort of plan to put into action.

Worried about the vulnerable ones up in the temple, Anakin pulled a young Jedi aside forcefully.

"Master Skywalker," said the Jedi, confused and slightly out of breath. "Can I help you?"

"Has anyone been asked to go up to the High Council room to protect the Younglings?" Anakin asked.

"We were under the impression that you were doing that."

"Master Kenobi just called me to come meet him at the Senate… can you go up there?"

"I suppose so sir, let me just clear it with Master-"

Anakin interrupted him. "I will clear it, you are under my orders now to go up and protect the Younglings. Senator Amidala is up there too. She may well be the last remaining uncorrupted senator after last nights attacks, so keep her safe."

The man gave Anakin a funny look.

"The headline this morning was a rumor," started Anakin, but the Jedi kept looking at him incredulously. Anakin realized it was no use, especially since he would be up in the room with the fifty Younglings who knew the truth. "All right, if I tell you its true will you please just go? And tell no one else. We're going to tell everyone after this war, but for now we need to focus on fighting. No go, before someone gets to them."

"Yes Master," the young man said, obviously surprised and honored with Anakin's honesty. He began to rush up the stairs into the Temple.

Anakin pulled him back, more softly this time. "And please," he begged, "Keep her safe."

The young Jedi nodded and raced up the stairs, killing two clone troopers in his path. Anakin couldn't help but notice the promise in this young man, and made a mental note to pay more attention to him after the war. If the Council allowed Anakin to remain in the Order, that is.

Yoda, Mace, and Obi-Wan were tiring of holding off the storm troopers. They were allowing themselves to be pushed further into the Senate buildings, already weary of this battle knowing that it could only end with the destruction of Palpatine, presuming he was the man behind their betrayal.

Finally, they saw a green light saber striking down clones that were entering the temple, and Anakin's head popped up at the top of the stairs.

"Hello, Masters," said Anakin cheerfully. "Who are we going to be fighting now?"

"Anakin," Obi Wan began, but then turned to Yoda, "Yoda, if I may, I would like to be the one to explain this to Anakin."

"Yes, explain you may," Yoda consented, "but hurry."

Obi-Wan pulled Anakin into a safer hallway.

"Anakin, is Padme all right? And the Younglings?" He asked, genuinely concerned.

"Yes, I sent a young Jedi who seemed very talented up to protect them. And Obi-Wan," Anakin paused, "I told him the truth, he asked me, point blank. We told the Younglings too, I couldn't leave Padme without saying a proper goodbye anyway. We're going to let this all out after the war."

"That's probably for the best Anakin, but save it until a few weeks after peace has begun, because there will be several matters to get into order both for you as a Jedi and for Padme as a Senator… I will try to keep the secret safe until then as well."

"Obi-Wan," Anakin paused, putting his hand on Obi-Wan's shoulder, "Thank you so much."

"Of course Anakin, I only wish you had come to me sooner. Now, about what's going on, there's no time for me to gloss over this so you're just going to have to accept it, though it will be hard for you."

Anakin looked concerned. "What's wrong Master?"

"Anakin, Yoda has reason to believe that Chancellor Palpatine is a Sith Lord, and is behind the sudden attack of the clones."

Anakin stared at Obi-Wan, and felt that cursed 'rage' seizing him again. He tried to control it, knowing he would only be proving their point if he allowed it to surface, but he was so angry. They never had trusted him, never trusted Palpatine, the one man who had been Anakin's friend- and now this.

Obi Wan saw what was coming, and backed up slightly, putting his hand on his light saber.

"Anakin, control yourself. Search your feelings- you know he has said things to you- he is untrustworthy. Please, Anakin."

Suddenly, Anakin saw that fear that singed his soul back in Obi-Wan's eyes, that same fear he had seen in Padme's and the Younglings eyes, as well as Obi-Wan's, back in the cafeteria. Suddenly, he just let his anger float away. It was extremely refreshing, just letting it go, and he realized that he wanted to trust his Master and the other Jedi, the people who had raised him, no matter what.

Shocked, Anakin realized his hand was already on his light saber and was about to draw it. He hadn't even realized it- that was how all consuming his anger was. But he moved it away. "Yes, I understand. What do you need me to do?"

Obi-Wan looked at him, honestly surprised. Maybe, finally Anakin had grown up. And maybe marriage and impending fatherhood had helped- maybe they really would be able to convince the Council this was a good thing. Without hesitating further, he explained to Anakin the reasons for their doubt, and that they wanted him to talk to Palpatine as if nothing was wrong.

"Anakin," Obi-Wan said awkwardly, "he may try to… try to turn you."  
"What?" Anakin asked.

"He will feed off of your… impulsiveness, and…"  
"Obi-Wan, I am working hard to get rid of that. If I am going to be a Jedi Master, I am going to act like one. I promise you, I will not let you down." Anakin sounded confident, but Obi-Wan could feel the conflict in him.

"I believe in you Anakin," Obi-Wan reassured the young man, "Just don't let your emotions get the better of you. Just remember your duty. We know you can do this, call us as soon as you have him angry enough that you think he will begin to fight, that way, we will know for sure that he is a Sith, and we will all attack him together. Now go." As he watched Anakin nod confidently and walk away to the Chancellor's office, he hoped to himself that Anakin would be able to handle the situation. The boy was too passionate in every way- a Sith would be very powerful next to such emotion. He kept his mind very focused on Anakin's feelings as he joined the others to fight. If Anakin became too conflicted, he would be up there right away to help his closest friend.

Yoda approached him, sensing his feelings. "Successful, Young Skywalker will be," he assured Obi Wan. "Reckless, yes, Passionate, yes. He will waver, yes, but pure his heart is. Believe in him, I did not, but of late a powerful ally has he been. A great Jedi, Young Skywalker is. And a Sith we will not let him be."

"The minute we feel the Dark Side grow strong, we will run up there. Palpatine won't even have time to push Anakin's feelings over the edge." Said Mace.

"In the meantime," Obi Wan replied, "How will we handle this?"

He motioned to all of the clones swarming the city, scattered in between them were Jedi trying to hold them off. The Masters faces were grave, wanting to help but knowing their job was here.

Yoda sighed. "Rely on the Chosen One, the fate of Coruscant does."

Obi-Wan and Mace turned to Yoda. This was the first time any of the other Masters had ever called Anakin 'The Chosen One.' Obi-Wan wasn't sure he had even believed it himself.

Yoda sensed his surprise, knowing that Obi-Wan himself had doubted the truth of the prophecy. "When realize I did that Palpatine was the enemy, understood, I did, the prophecy to be true. I now believe, as Qui-Gon did, that bring balance to the Force, Anakin Skywalker will. Soon, shall we know for sure."


	18. Chapter 18

**Ch. 18**

Anakin cautiously approached Chancellor Palpatine's office door. He reached out with the Force to seeking the Chancellor's presence nearby, and sure enough he could tell that the Chancellor was inside. Already, Anakin was finding it a little easier to believe Yoda and Obi-Wan; Why would Palpatine be sitting in here doing nothing when the Republic was in chaos, if he was the good man Anakin had believed he was? Anakin took a deep breath, preparing himself to betray a man that, no matter how evil, had been a supportive friend when Anakin had needed it most.

Anakin tried to soothe all of his feelings through the Force, desperately wanting to be a true Master, to be calm and at peace, and lose that impulsiveness that he knew made him so untrustworthy. It was very difficult at this time- his thoughts of Padme and his unborn children kept him very emotional, as did the thought of Palpatine's betrayal and the fact that Anakin himself had to somehow get a confession out of the Chancellor. He also needed to be able to fool Palpatine into thinking that nothing was wrong between the two of them- if Palpatine was indeed a Sith, he would be able to sense Anakin's thoughts. Anakin cleared his head completely, and began to think of the times Palpatine had been there for him so that the Chancellor would read only these thoughts in the young Jedi's mind.

However, Anakin soon abandoned this idea, realizing that it only made it harder to see Palpatine as an enemy. Clearing his mind completely, he knocked on the office door.

"Come in, young friend," he heard Palpatine's uneven voice beckon him. Taking a deep breath, he opened the door.

"Hello, Chancellor," Anakin began, cautiously, "How are you handling the situation? Terrible, isn't it, that someone would betray us like that." Ok, steady Anakin, that might have been too much.

"Sad, yes, that the Republic is not united."

Anakin realized how clearly Palpatine had begun to reveal himself. Instead of saying that it was terrible that the Clone's had betrayed the old Republic, he had only said it was sad that no one was united in this war. This was a good sign- it showed that Palpatine did not think Anakin suspected him.

"What do you mean, Chancellor?"

The Chancellor sighed, as if he was truly confused about the situation. "Sometimes I wonder, Anakin, which side to be fighting on."

"You mean to say you don't trust the Jedi?" Anakin said angrily, quickly calming himself and pretending to be Palpatine's ally.

"The Jedi have been loyal to me always, Anakin. But now they seem to have their own agenda in this war- the Clones are simply trying to keep betrayal and corruption from happening.

"The Clones killed civilians! Children! They have betrayed the Republic, they are not trying to support it!"

Anakin feared that he had shown too much emotion, that Palpatine would know he was against him. However, the Chancellor only laughed, and gave an eerie smile to the young Jedi.

"It is good that you feel such passion in what you do Anakin. It will make you very powerful…probably the most powerful of any Jedi, ever…" The Chancellor eyed Anakin, and despite himself Anakin showed his pride to the Chancellor, letting down his guard. "You are the Chosen One, after all," Palpatine continued, egging Anakin on.

"The Council is comprised of very powerful Jedi. I am honored to even be considered equal to them."

"Don't you ever wonder if perhaps they only put you on the Council to keep you happy? To keep you loyal to them?" Anakin stared at Palpatine, having never considered this. He had certainly always been suspicious and wary of the Masters, knowing they didn't trust him. And he had many conflicting feelings about many of their motives, sometimes even Obi Wan. He had seen their appointing him onto the Council as a sign of their trust in him, and had tried to push his feelings of uneasiness far back into his mind. He had been successful, until this moment. It was possible- what if they had just put him on it to shut him up and keep him satisfied? No, it wasn't possible. They were his friends. They trusted him.

"They put me on the council because I deserved it, because I had proven myself to them and they consider me a worthy Jedi, and a friend." Anakin answered, though he knew Palpatine sensed his confidence wavering.

"Don't you ever get the feeling," Palpatine continued slowly, "That the Council is… afraid of your talents?"

Anakin turned to him. This certainly got his attention. He had seen it in Obi Wan's eyes.

Palpatine chuckled. "Yes Anakin. You know it to be true- they know you are more powerful than they are. At first, they tried to keep you from the Council, afraid that your sense of power would betray them. But Yoda then made a smarter move- appeasing you, making you think they appreciated and trusted you. Maybe this way," The Chancellor paused, and looked straight at Anakin's eyes, "they could control your… rage?"

Anakin turned to him, his head swimming. It made so much sense- it was just why the Masters had felt unnerved around him.

"No, they trust me, no!" Was all Anakin could say.

"Anakin, I know how you could reach your full potential. You could be in charge- no one would be holding you back. You would be allowed to be with Padme…"

Anakin stared at him, his hand on his light saber.

"How do you know about her?" He screamed.

"I could sense it, Anakin. You know the Council will never allow it- you will have to choose between them and her…and your children…"  
"No!" Yelled Anakin, and he drew his light saber.

To Anakin's surprise, but certainly not shock, Palpatine pulled out the Sith's signature red light saber, and laughed. "Good, Anakin. Let your rage go- you're always told to hold it back, but now I encourage you to use it."

"You _are_ a Sith!" Yelled Anakin.

"Join me, Anakin. It is your path, Chosen One. I will let you reach your real potential, you will be more powerful than anyone has ever been!"

Palpatine put away his light saber, and held out his hand. Anakin put his away also, but did not reach out to shake the Chancellor's extended hand.

"The Sith are evil." Anakin stated.

"No Anakin, the Sith simply use the whole Force. I will teach you things the Jedi Masters keep from you. Special ways to use the Force, to protect those you love…"  
Anakin's mind was racing, his anger feeding on Palpatine's encouragement. Palpatine approached him, putting his arm around Anakin's shoulders.

"Come Anakin. I am your true friend- haven't I always believed in you? You can help me win this war; we can rule the galaxy together. I will be your Master Anakin, only me! No Council, no one but me and you, ruling together, Master and Apprentice. I will encourage your talents, instead of holding you back as the other Masters did, as your weak _Master_ Obi Wan did. I will be a better Master than you've ever had, I will teach you more!"

Anakin turned to him. Palpatine looked at the young Jedi's eyes and saw hate, and rage, and knew he had won. He turned to walk back to his desk, smiling to himself. Suddenly, he sensed something was wrong.

He turned and saw Anakin standing behind him with his light saber raised.

"Obi Wan was my _brother_!"


	19. Chapter 19

**Ch. 19**

Palpatine stared at Anakin, and Anakin was quite satisfied with the shock he saw in the Sith Lord's eyes.

"You really thought you had me, didn't you Palpatine," Anakin spat, keeping his light saber raised. "They Jedi are my family. I will not betray them."

"The Jedi don't trust you Anakin! They are afraid of teaching you enough to let you reach your full potential. Only I can help you learn how to use your power!"  
"I will never use any amount of my power to aid the Sith in conquering the galaxy. I would rather be a weak Jedi than a powerful Sith." Said Anakin, honestly a bit surprised at his own strength in the moment. As much as he had hated to hear the Masters talk about the fear and anger inside of him, he knew them to be correct. He knew that he had to be careful not to be influenced by the Dark Side, and he had certainly felt himself slipping just moments ago. He was proud of himself for keeping his head together, and he knew now that he would never joined the Sith. Palpatine said nothing, eyeing the young Jedi analytically. "Well, are you going to fight me or just let me cut you down like a droid soldier?" Anakin asked, suddenly wanting to fight the Sith to prove his allegiance to the Jedi and to his family- to the good side.

"If you kill me Anakin, you will have set yourself up to replace me." Palpatine smiled cruelly.

"Never," said Anakin, still holding his light saber. Tired of waiting, Anakin swung at Palpatine.

"Impatience is a great trait of the Sith," Palpatine cackled, meeting Anakin's blade.

Anakin said nothing, but continued with all of his ferocity to fight the Sith Lord. He was holding Palpatine off, and he could see that Palpatine, the one man who had always said how powerful he could be, was actually surprised by his abilities.

"Perhaps you underestimated the Jedi, Sidious," Anakin said. Palpatine looked up at him. "Yes, we know your Sith name. We have been searching for Sidious for some time." Anakin mocked Palpatine.

They continued to fight, and Anakin began to hope that Obi Wan would arrive soon to aid him. He continued to fight impressively with the Sith Lord, but he knew that he was on the defensive, and would need help if he were to defeat Sidious. 'Come on Obi Wan,' Anakin thought, sending as much Force energy to his former Master as he could. But for some reason, no one came for quite some time.

Back at the front of the Senate, Yoda, Mace Windu, and Obi Wan were confused. They had expected to feel a sense of darkness and foreboding long before- what was happening? Obi Wan hadn't let himself worry, knowing that if something was wrong with Anakin he would have felt it, but he now was letting himself begin to wonder if everything was all right.

"Perhaps I should go up there," Obi Wan said. "This is taking too long- we have to end this now- look out at the city. We cannot hold of the clones any longer by ourselves."  
The masters followed Obi Wan's gaze and realized that the number of Jedi fighting was dwindling, and more and more Clones seemed to be arriving.

"Go, we all must," said Yoda, and the three Jedi Masters headed up to the Chancellor's office.

When they arrived outside Palpatine's door, they stood in front of it quietly, listening and reaching out with the Force. They could feel the conflict in the room, but it was unclear whether light or dark was prevailing.

"Cloudy, the Force is here," said Yoda, and Obi Wan and Mace nodded.

"I can't tell what Anakin is feeling," Said Obi Wan. "And yet it doesn't seem as if he is giving in to Palpatine."

Looking at each other, they opened the door. The scene before them was cause for surprise for all three of them. They saw Palpatine, complete with Sith light saber, dueling with Anakin, and Anakin was holding him off very well. What was more, the Force, having become clearer as they entered the room, showed no sign of darkness near Anakin. He was fighting only for good.

"I am afraid we underestimated my former Padawan," Obi Wan said. "Perhaps he wasn't so ready to turn to the Dark Side."

Anakin, noticing the Masters for the first time, was extremely relieved. "Obi Wan!" He yelled. "Help!"

Suddenly jumping to action, the three aided Anakin in attacking the Sith.

"Chancellor Palpatine," Mace began, "Or should I say, Lord Sidious, you are under arrest for betrayal of the Jedi and the Republic."

"I am the Republic!" Spat Palpatine.

"No," said Obi Wan. "I'm afraid you are mistaken."

"Oh am I?" asked Palpatine, and suddenly he sprang back to the offensive, with a strength he hadn't even been using before. Though the Jedi surrounded him, Palpatine was able to manipulate the Force in such ways that he could hold even four Jedi Masters off. The Jedi managed to avoid injury for some time, and the battle seemed almost to be a stalemate. Suddenly, Palpatine used the Force to pull out a ceiling pipe, and it came crashing down and trapped Mace. Obi Wan ran to check on him.

"He's ok, just knocked out," said Obi Wan, as he sprung back into action.

Yoda, Anakin, and Obi Wan continued to battle Sidious, and finally had him being pushed back into a corner.

"There is no escape now, Sidious," said Obi Wan, as the Sith seemed cornered by the Jedi. However, with a flick of his light saber, Palpatine sent Yoda's weapon spinning across the room, and began to advance toward the unarmed Jedi. However, Obi Wan was too quick for him and quickly engaged him in battle before he could reach Yoda. Yoda tried to Force-recall his light saber, but Palpatine kicked it away again. As Yoda made his way to physically retrieve his weapon and check on Mace, Palpatine put even more strength into the battle. He sent Obi Wan and Anakin on the defensive again. Suddenly, he pulled the desk towards him using the force, and knocked it straight in to Obi Wan's chest.

Anakin screamed in rage, and rushed to help Obi Wan.

"Turn away, do not, Anakin! Help Obi Wan, I will!"

Anakin turned, all of his anger put into defeating Sidious. The battle raged on, and Anakin was certainly proving himself a noble match for the Sith. Yoda removed the desk from Obi Wan, who remained unconscious, and joined Anakin again in the battle.

Suddenly, Mace regained his consciousness, and Yoda dropped back to give him his light saber and help him free.

Anakin continued to battle Sidious. Suddenly, he heard Obi Wan groan, and forgetting everything, let his guard down to look toward his friend. Taking advantage of this moment, Sidious knocked Anakin's weapon out of his hands. Helpless, Anakin stared at Sidious.

"Well, I certainly can't say I underestimated the Jedi, seeing as I just managed to defeat four of the greatest Jedi of all time," Sidious said evilly.

"You haven't won yet," said Anakin. "You can kill me, but the others are still alive and able to fight."

Sidious began to advance on Anakin, light saber just inches from the young Jedi's neck. "I don't want to kill you Anakin. I think that seeing your Masters killed will finally make you respect me. You're halfway there already."

Yoda and Mace suddenly sprung into action. Seizing this opportunity, Anakin called his light saber to him through the Force. They advanced on Sidious even more ferociously, and finally had him cornered. Anakin knocked away the Sith's light saber, and felt a sudden wave of relief.

"And now, Sidious, you are under arrest." Said Mace.

"Interesting that even after all of that, you aren't going to kill me."  
"Need you, we do," said Yoda angrily, "to show the Clones that captured you are, that over, the war is."

They bound him to his chair, and Anakin rushed to check on Obi Wan.

"He'll be all right," said Anakin. "When he comes to."

Anakin stood near Obi Wan, but close enough to Yoda and Mace to hear them discuss what measures to follow next. Suddenly, Anakin got a very apprehensive feeling.

"Something's wrong," he said.

"Feel it, I do not," Yoda replied, eyeing the young Jedi.

"You're probably just feeling the strains of battle, Anakin," Mace confirmed.

"Maybe," Anakin said quietly. However, he looked around the room warily, feeling as if something wasn't quite right. Mace and Yoda continued to talk, paying no attention to Anakin. Suddenly, Anakin realized what was going to happen. He looked at the Sith Lord, sitting with his arms bound to the arms of the chair. He saw him reach out his fingers, pointing them toward Obi Wan.

"NO!" Anakin yelled suddenly, and Mace and Yoda turned to him just as the young Jedi ran in front of Obi Wan, unarmed, and blocked a full blow of Sith lightning with his body to save his friend.


	20. Chapter 20

**Ch. 20**

"Anakin!" Mace yelled helplessly from across the room as Anakin fell grimacing and writhing to the floor. Yoda and Mace ran as quickly as possible, light sabers out, to block the Sith lightning. Just as Anakin stopped crying out in pain, unconscious, the Jedi Masters intercepted the Sith lightning with both of their light sabers. They held off with all of their might the Sith lightning, trying to push it back to Sidious. At this moment, Obi Wan regained consciousness. Without a word, Obi Wan ignited his light saber, and weakly but determinedly joined in blocking the Sith lightning, still unaware of the loyalty Anakin had just shown him, hardly aware of his surroundings at all. With this third blade, they could see Sidious weakening, his face wrinkling and distorting itself as if he had aged decades in just a few seconds.

"Use his!" Obi Wan said, and as Mace and Yoda tried to understand what their friend meant, Obi Wan used his last ounce of strength to call Sidious' red light saber to him and ignite it, the fourth blade now also blocking the blast. To have his own light saber deflecting his lightning was too much for Sidious, and the saber sent the lightning back to him.

"Augh!" Yelled the ex-Chancellor, now writhing in his chair. He released the lightning, and the Jedi Masters breathlessly tied Sidious' hands behind his back.

"Taken to the medical unit, young Skywalker must be, immediately," said Yoda, and the fear for Anakin's life was apparent in his voice.

"What happened to him?" asked Obi Wan, rushing to his former Padawan, sadness in his face.

Mace opened his mouth to explain it, but Yoda cut him off. "Later, we will explain it." Mace nodded, understanding that it would be emotional for Obi Wan to hear right now, and that they all needed to keep their heads to deal with this situation.

"Anakin was hit with the full blast of Sith lightning- he is unconscious, he must be taken to a medical unit." Mace explained, leaving out the detail.

Sidious cackled. "He cannot be saved. I'm afraid that now, the Chosen one will die," he said, with sarcastic sadness.

"No he won't!" Obi Wan yelled, "Anakin is too strong for that." However, Obi Wan's voice wavered, and he turned away, his face in his hands.

"Obi Wan," began Yoda, "Take Anakin, you will. Attend to Sidious and the Clones, we will, and then meet you at the medical unit."  
Obi Wan lifted Anakin and carried him out, silently.

"Despair, do not, Master Kenobi," Yoda said. "Over, the war is."

Obi Wan nodded, and walked away.

"You truly believe that the clones will stop this war just because we have Sidious?" Mace asked.

"Trained to follow orders, they are. With no leader, they will follow us. No true allegiance, do the clones have- Sith, they certainly are not," Yoda explained, and he and Mace led Sidious out of the building to show the galaxy the traitor that the Chancellor had become.

Obi Wan rushed into the Temple medical unit, breathless. "This is a Jedi Master, he needs immediate medical attention," Obi Wan informed the nurse.

"We are over our limits as it is," she responded. "No doctors are free, you will have to wait."

"You don't understand," Obi Wan said, "this is urgent, he must be seen now." He lowered his voice, and in a last desperate attempt, whispered the truth to the nurse. "This is Anakin Skywalker. He's been hit with Sith lightning."

"There's a Sith here?" The nurse said, a little too loudly, and Obi Wan quieted her.

"He has been defeated, much thanks to this young Master. Please, I beg of you, you must have him worked on now."

"All right," said the nurse. "Follow me." She led them into a room and they laid Anakin on the bed.

"I will send a doctor in as soon as possible," she said. "We certainly wouldn't want to lose Master Skywalker."

"Thank you," Obi Wan replied.

He looked at his former Padawan, and a tear fell down his cheek. He had always known that Anakin was important to him, but in this moment he realized how much he needed the spirit and recklessness of his young friend. Anakin was truly like a son to him, and he just couldn't let the hopeful, bright-eyed boy he had met on Tatooine die like this. He had never been more proud of Anakin, for though he didn't know exactly how this had happened, having been unconscious, he knew Anakin had done something heroic. He could feel good flowing through Anakin, and the darkness that had once clouded his Force presence seemed to have disappeared. After all, Anakin had been holding off Sidious alone for quite some time. Obi Wan was very proud-it seemed as if Anakin had indeed fulfilled the prophecy.

"Anakin, I knew we could trust you. You did a wonderful thing today, you can't leave us like this, we need you. You truly are one of the greatest Jedi…" Obi Wan sighed, using the Force to try to heal Anakin before the medics arrived. Suddenly, his thoughts went to Padme.

"Oh Anakin, she needs you too. So do your children- hang on my friend, I will be back very soon." He went out to contact Padme. She had to know, but explaining this situation to her would be very difficult. Even more difficult would be trying to restrain her from embracing him and acting like his wife. She had to be restrained, there were Jedi and civilians everywhere and Yoda and Mace would be meeting him there soon. Taking a deep breath, Obi Wan contacted the com-link in the high Council Room, praying that she and the Younglings were all right, and still there.

After Anakin had left, Padme had sat with the Younglings and watched them play, dreaming of the day when Anakin and her children would arrive. She loved all of these children in here, they were so reassuring- happy, optimistic, and completely innocent. It almost saddened her to think that one day these children would be warriors, in charge of fighting and faced with death and destruction. However, she knew that they would be fighting only for peace and democracy, and this thought reassured her.

A young Jedi had burst in the door, saying that Anakin had sent him. He looked at Padme, and she knew immediately that he knew the truth. The young Jedi had been very kind, and he sat by the door ready to jump up at any moment and defend the room. He too was good with the Younglings- Padme was glad to know that if her children were to be trained as Jedi, they would be treated well by all of the Jedi. A great deal of time passed, and nothing happened. Peering out the windows, Padme could see that the Jedi were managing to hold the troops off from the Temple, but that there were far more clones than Jedi. Hopefully, whatever Anakin had rushed off to do would turn the tables in this war. She chatted with the other Jedi, and found out that he was only an 18-year-old Padawan. He was respectful and calm, a complete opposite ofthe Padawan that she had married. She enjoyed talking to him, hearing about his experiences and especially how he revered her husband.

Suddenly, just as Padme was beginning to feel very secure, the Jedi in front of her, as well as the fifty young children in the room, all gasped. Padme cursed the fact that she wasn't Force sensitive. "What is it?" she asked, fearing the worst.

"Something's wrong," replied the Jedi.

"Bad feelings in the Force," said Eivyn. All of the children looked at one another, and many moved closer to Padme and the Jedi.

"Someone with an extremely strong Force signal is experiencing a lot of pain," said the Padawan. "It is even painful to me. This person must be very high in medichlorians, for the Younglings to sense it too- his levels must be-" The young Jedi stopped talking, realizing that he knew exactly who it was that was hurt. "Um, I mean, it could be nothing though. Sometimes, the Force gets very strange, especially during times of battle. You never know."

"It's Anakin," said Padme, not even making it a question.

Sighing and looking at the Senator, the young Jedi nodded, "It's very likely." He paused. "I'm sorry."

Padme couldn't help it, but tears formed in her eyes. The Padawan began to look very uncomfortable, but Eivyn hugged her. She held the child in her arms, just praying that her husband would get to do the same with their own children.

"If it's any reassurance, he's alive," said the Padawan. "We would all know if Master Skywalker had died. In fact, all of the Masters seem to be alive."

"Thank you," Padme said, and she wiped her eyes. "I just hope he's all right."

Obi Wan's voice suddenly began shouting breathlessly through the com-link.

"Padme! Are you there? You must come to the medical unit immediately."

Padme knew something was gravely wrong with Anakin. He was very strong, and usually injuries didn't land him in the medical unit. He could withstand most things without even worrying about them. He had lost his hand and had it repaired on a ship for Force sake.But she didn't cry. Something inside of her froze, and she reached for the com-link in a daze to answer Obi Wan.

"What happened to him?" She asked, her emotion suddenly flooding back into her voice.

"It would be better if you would just come down here," said Obi Wan. Then he hesitantly spoke again, "And Padme- I know you will have to practice great restraint, but you mustn't rush to him. You have to be only his friend, nothing more, there are Jedi everywhere. Masters Yoda and Mace Windu will be joining me shortly, most likely before you reach me."

"I will be there very soon," she said. She turned to the Padawan, "I have to go," she said, "Thank you for everything."

"Of course," He replied. "I would go with you, but I must stay with the Younglings."

"Of course." With that, Padme left the room, the children watching her sadly, and went to find her husband.

Back in the hospital, medical droids surrounded Anakin. The problem was that no one really knew what Sith lightning did. It was hard to treat, and the droids were confused.

"His systems all seem to be in perfect order, justextraordinarily weak," a droid told Obi Wan. "They all began to shut down. There is not much we can do but give him nutrients and sleep. He has to recuperate on his own." The droid paused. "He is very weak. We will monitor his vital functions. Master Skywalker is certainly astrong person- we can only hope he will soon be back to his full power."

"Thank you," said Obi Wan. The droids left, and Obi Wan was again alone with his former Padawan. "Be strong Anakin, you will get through this."

Mace and Yoda arrived quickly, distressed to see Anakin still unconscious.

"Hit very hard, was he," Yoda said. "Died, would have anyone else in his situation."

"Let's hope that he pulls through," Mace said.

Soon, many Jedi and a few remaining Senators began to flow through the room, paying respects to the one who had ended the war. Yoda explained that as soon as the clones saw Sidious captured, they stopped the attack. They were sent to the Outer Rim, and their fate would be decided later. Jedi again were the primary fighting force in the galaxy. They discussed how to reassemble the Senate and the government, but knew that these issues would later need a lot of discussion withmany more people than the few of them in the room.

Soon, they were silent, just hoping that Anakin would be all right.

"He will pull through this," Obi Wan kept saying, reassuring himself more than anybody.

Suddenly, Senator Amidala burst into the room.

"Where is he?" She asked, tears on her face.

"He's here Padme," Obi Wan said, giving her a very stern face.

"I don't care any more Obi Wan. I just want to be with him," she said, and as the group in the room looked at each other, puzzled, Padme rushed to Anakin's bedside and kissed him right in front of them.

"Anakin, please come back. I need you, our babies need you. Please, don't leave me." She began to cry silently, and put her face down on his chest as she ran one hand through his hair.

"So," said Yoda. "True, the rumor is."


	21. Chapter 21

**Ch. 21**

Padme looked up, and the obvious devastation on her face kept the room quiet.

"What happened to him?" She demanded, as if daring the Jedi to say anything about her revelation.

"He was struck by Sith lightning," Mace replied, sighing.

Padme gasped, her hand to her mouth. She didn't really understand the Force, or the powers that these people around her had, but she did know that the Sith had a dark power that Jedi did not harness, and that Sith lightning was extremely deadly. She knew enough to understand that Anakin was in critical condition. She began to cry, kneeling by herself at her husband's bedside. No one in the room had the heart to comment on the illegal marriage between the Senator and the Jedi.

As Padme sobbed, the Masters looked at each other, unsure of how to handle this situation. It was a clear invasion of the Jedi code, but had Anakin not just risked his own life to save his former Master, as well as saving the Republic? Understanding that they would have to discuss this later, without Padme present, they simply remained silent. Obi Wan, unable to stand by idly watching the young woman in despair, knelt down by Padme and gave her a warm and friendly hug. She turned to him and buried her face in his shoulder, her hands over her eyes. Suddenly, Padme cried out in pain.

"Ahh!" She yelled, clutching her stomach.

"The children," said Obi Wan, without hesitation. All of the Jedi in the room could feel that the babies Padme was carrying were about to be born.

"No!" Padme cried, "It's too early, they can't be born yet. Ah!" She doubled over, holding her stomach. "I can't lose them too," she whispered, losing all of the characteristic hope that made her so dear to the galaxy.

"Anakin is not lost, Padme," Obi Wan reassured her, also reassuring himself that his former Padawan would be all right. "And neither will they be. We have to get you to your own room." Obi Wan sent out a young Jedi to go get a doctor.

"Brought on by grief, the labor has been," said Yoda. "The Senator's stress and despair have made her body release the children."

"I can't do this without him," Padme said, looking at Anakin.

"You have to do this _for_ him, so that when he wakes up, he will find you and his children healthy and happy," Obi Wan replied, the utmost compassion for his friend's family evident in his voice.

"How could Anakin get hit by Sith lightning," Padme asked, still crying silently, as a doctor came in to examine her, "he's too strong for that. He would have known it was coming."

Obi Wan turned to Yoda. "Yes, how _did_ this happen? I would also have thought that of anyone Anakin would have been able to block Sidious' attempt."

"Block it, he did," said Yoda.

"Then how did he get hit?" Obi Wan asked, confused.

Yoda sighed, and looked right into Obi Wan's eyes. "Come out, the truth must now." Yoda looked to Mace, unable to tell Obi Wan himself.

"What are you talking about?" Obi Wan asked.

Mace put a hand on Obi Wan's shoulder, and looked his friend in the eye. "Anakin did sense the Sith lightning coming. And he did block it…" Mace paused.

"Would someone just explain to me what happened?" Obi Wan asked.

"Obi Wan, Anakin jumped in front of the Sith lightning unarmed to defend you. He blocked the Sith lightning from you with his own body."

Obi Wan paused, emotion evident in his eyes. He turned to look at the man on the bed whom he still considered a young boy. If he had ever doubted Anakin's bond with him, the doubt was completely erased. He couldn't believe that Anakin had done this for him- it was beyond the call of friendship; in fact it was even beyond the call of the Jedi code. Jedi were instructed not to risk their own lives to save another Jedi, because there was the risk that both would be hurt, and one Jedi would need to continue the battle. Obi Wan realized the irony of the situation- Anakin's attachment to those he loved had again led him to break the code. Suddenly, Obi Wan felt extremely guilty- if Anakin didn't pull through this, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself. If he had only been stronger himself, Anakin wouldn't have had to do this. Anakin was a young man with a wife and children on the way. Obi Wan had already lived the better years of his life- and yet Anakin still risked his own life to save Obi Wan's…

"Why we did not tell you, this is," Yoda said.

"He risked his life…" Obi Wan said, a tear in his eye.

"Anakin is certainly a hero today," Mace said, "More so than we ever expected- I am sad to say I underestimated him, I never showed him the trust he deserved."

Suddenly, they all turned to Padme, sensing through the Force the pain of her next contraction. But she didn't even react; she just stared at her husband, almost in awe. She knew that he considered Obi Wan like a brother, really like the father he'd never known. The fact that Anakin would risk his own life to save those he loved just cemented her love for him- she knew she wouldn't be able to survive without him. Silent tears rolled down her cheeks, but the pain of her contractions was nothing compared to the pain she was feeling as she stared at her husband's silent figure, so weak and alone. She moved from the chair the doctor had placed her in and put her hand on Anakin's cheek. She didn't need to say anything; everyone knew exactly what she was thinking. She gazed at him, full of love and sadness; and Anakin opened his eyes.

Anakin blinked, the lights shining in his eyes. The last thing he remembered was Sidious shooting Sith lightning at his best friend, and hoping beyond hope that he had blocked it in time. Without even being able to think further, he saw his wife's beautiful face in front of him, and suddenly hated himself for having been so quick to sacrifice himself, not even thinking of her and the babies. How could he abandon her like that? But he had had to protect Obi Wan. He had to apologize to her.

"Padme?" He grasped her hand, and looked into her eyes.

"Anakin, I'm here, it's ok," she said. She smiled at him, "the babies are coming…"

"Padme," Anakin cried, tears in his eyes, "I'm so sorry."  
Whatever anyone in the room had expected to hear, it wasn't that.

"Sorry? Ani, what are you sorry for, you did wonderful things today, you saved us all!" Padme replied, gazing at her husband, concerned for his obvious distress.

"I jumped in front, I had to save Obi Wan but I'm so sorry, I didn't want to abandon you, I just-"

"Shhh, Anakin, I understand why you did it. What you did was heroic; your children are so lucky to have such a wonderful father…But Anakin," Padme paused, "I must apologize to you." She began to cry again, "I told them. I'm so sorry."

For the first time, Anakin looked up, and saw several Jedi including Obi Wan and Yoda right in front of them. But he didn't care anymore.

"Angel, that's ok. We said we would tell soon anyway, whatever happens, I will love you and the children always." He looked towards Obi Wan. "Obi Wan, are you all right? What about Sidious, he was about to-"

"Taken care of, he is," said Yoda. "Over, the war is."

Obi Wan said nothing, still unsure of what to say.

Padme cried out in pain again, and the doctor insisted that she get to a delivery room. Anakin wanted desperately to go, but the doctors wouldn't let him get out of bed. As they led Padme away, Yoda and Mace followed. The other Jedi left the room, leaving Obi Wan and Anakin alone.

"Obi Wan, are you all right? I felt you in so much pain, I just couldn't bear to see you-"

"Anakin," interrupted Obi wan, "I did nothing to ever merit the loyalty you showed me today. I am all right, and it is all because of you. I can't even express my feelings," he paused, "thank you." He bent down and hugged Anakin, and Anakin smiled.

"Obi Wan you were my Master! You taught me everything, and I couldn't let you die. You're like the father I never had. Thank _you_ for everything, for taking a slave boy and making me the happiest man in the galaxy."

"Well I think you have your lovely wife to thank for that."

"Well, yeah, she helped a little," Anakin joked. "Will you…will you go in there, and check on her? I just need to know someone I really trust is there, please."

"Of Course, Anakin," Obi Wan said. He smiled, and began to walk out. "Oh, I almost forgot," Obi Wan said, "you might need this." He threw Anakin's light saber down on the bed.

"Wait…I haven't been expelled? Does this mean I'm still a Jedi, even after they all found out?" Anakin asked, hardly able to contain his happiness.

"We haven't discussed it yet," Obi Wan said. With a smirk, he turned and left.


	22. Chapter 22

**Ch. 22**

"How far along is she?" The doctor asked Obi Wan. "Has there been anything abnormal about this pregnancy so far?"

Obi Wan looked puzzled, realizing that the doctor thought he was the father, and also realizing how little he actually knew about Padme and Anakin.

"I don't know, I'm just a friend," he said. "Her husband is in this hospital too, injured. You'll have to ask Padme herself."

"Only seven months," Padme said, crying. "Will they be ok?"

"They? Are they twins?" Asked the doctor.

"Yes, will they be all right?"

"Well twins are often born prematurely, we should be able to have them born in perfect health. We will have to operate to get them out, but otherwise everything should be fine. You have nothing to worry about right now."

Padme sighed, relieved, at least for the moment. She couldn't believe that Anakin was missing this, but having seen him she knew he couldn't get up and come in here. It had been a struggle for him to talk. She couldn't believe the bad timing, but was determined for her children to be safe and healthy. She was glad that Obi Wan was there, because she knew he understood about their secret. She didn't know what to do about Yoda and the other Masters- she cursed herself for not waiting for Anakin to tell them when he was ready. She wouldn't be able to forgive herself if she had gotten him kicked out of the order. Suddenly, the pain of another contraction hit her, much worse than before.

"Ahh!" She yelled.

"I think it is time," said the doctor.

Obi Wan suddenly found himself trapped between medical droids and equipment, and unable to leave the room. Though he felt sort of awkward, Anakin had asked him to be there, and so he watched (more squeamishly than he would have liked to admit) as the doctors operated on Padme.

"It's a girl," said the doctor, and after checking on the first baby and cleaning her he handed her to Obi Wan. Obi Wan held her awkwardly, and looked at the child, hardly believing that Anakin was suddenly the father of a new person. He tried to give it to Padme, but she was being stitched up and attended to by the doctors.

"A boy," said the doctor, again giving the child to Obi Wan after checking on him, Padme still in the process of the surgery. "They are very small, but should be able to survive on their own as long as we keep them here for about a week." The doctor continued to attend to Padme, and Obi Wan stood holding the children. He tried to bring them over for Padme to see, but there were doctors all around her. Suddenly, he heard quiet laughter coming from the doorway. He turned and saw Anakin, supporting himself against the door, laughing at the obvious feelings of awkwardness of his former Master. As Obi Wan thought to himself how typical it was that of all the things Anakin could be doing right now the young man was laughing at him, he was suddenly overjoyed to have Anakin back.

"Just what are you laughing at, my very young friend? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"How could I miss this?" Anakin asked, and Obi Wan could think of no reason. "Old man," Anakin added, laughing. Anakin entered the room, and Obi Wan immediately handed him one of his children.

"Which one is this?" Anakin asked, enamored of the tiny baby who gazed up at him, silently.

"The girl," replied Obi Wan.

As Anakin gazed at his daughter, he couldn't believe the immediate bond he felt with her. This was absolutely amazing, and he suddenly felt his life was so complete. He had never been happier. He bent down and kissed her forehead, and then looked at his son in Obi Wan's hands.

"They're both beautiful," Anakin said quietly. He turned toward Padme, and the doctors moved away. He knelt to her, with the girl in his arms, and kissed Padme's forehead.

"Can you believe it? Here they are, both perfect," he said to her. She smiled up at him; hardly able to believe this moment had arrived.

Obi Wan approached her and handed her the boy. "I think you two…well, four, should be alone for a while," he said, as he smiled and left the room.

Anakin and Padme stared at their children, both extremely tiny but absolutely beautiful. Neither could express the extreme joy of this moment for them. Somehow, through everything that had happened, a Jedi Master and a Senator had fallen in love and had two children. And the strangest thing was, though the situation was so wrong, it felt so right.

"We still need to name them," Anakin realized. Suddenly, he felt very weak. Thankful for his Jedi reflexes, he sat down on the bed before he could faint. Padme could tell something was wrong.

"Anakin, as much as I want you here, you should be in bed. I don't want you to get hurt any more, I want you to be ok."

"I will be ok, here with you," he said. His head was pounding, and he had blacked out for a moment, but nothing could have gotten him to leave that room. He lay down next to Padme, each holding a baby gingerly in their arms.

"For the boy, I like the name Luke," Padme said.

"Perfect," replied Anakin. "What about the girl?"

"You name her," Padme said, smiling at her husband and very curious as to what he would choose to name his daughter.

"Leia," he said simply, and the look on Padme's face told him she loved it.

"Perfect," she said. They put Luke and Leia between them, staring at their children, and the whole family fell asleep in each other's arms.

Yoda, Obi Wan and Mace walked into the room, talking. They stopped suddenly, looking at the Skywalkers dreaming together on the bed.

"Knew about this, did you, Obi Wan?" Yoda asked, knowing the subject had to come up at some point.

"Yes, but only just recently. When I knew of the Senator's pregnancy, I suspected highly that Anakin was the father. I found out just this morning for sure- and I also found out that they have been married for three years."

"Three years?" Mace asked, in disbelief, "How did we not know?"

"Because Anakin didn't let it interfere with his work," Obi Wan said, "Except to bring more love and passion to what he did. Please," Obi Wan paused, "I owe my life to him, do not expel him from the order. I broke the code too, by keeping the secret- if you punish anyone, punish me. His love for her only makes him stronger- and she is the one who can calm him when we all fail. She keeps his anger at bay; she is so good for him. And he didn't give in to Sidious, he remained true to us, saved the Republic and the Jedi- please, you can't punish him."  
"No more do you need to say. Punish him, we did not intend. Not after today," Yoda replied. "And punish you, we would never."

Obi Wan was so grateful to hear those words. He would never have enjoyed his missions as much if Anakin hadn't been with him- and he wouldn't have been able to forgive himself if Anakin had been expelled.

"Perhaps we need to reform the Code," Mace said, and the others nodded.

"Attachment, perhaps a good thing can be," said Yoda.

As the Masters turned to leave, Padme opened her eyes.

"Wait," she said, and they all turned to her, slightly embarrassed that they had been watching the family sleep. "Please, don't punish Anakin. He doesn't deserve it; he has done nothing but good. It is my fault really, I was the older and more responsible one when all of this happened- I should probably have tried to stop it, but I couldn't, you have to understand- love has no boundaries. I love him more than anything- well, I love my children just as much now. He would be so devastated, and he just saved the Republic, he deserves to-"

"Padme, it's all right," Obi Wan said. "We were just discussing revising the code."

"Revising the…really?" she looked around, and Mace and Yoda nodded. "Thank you, this will mean so much to him, it means so much to me… Thank you so much."

"You should be the one to tell him. We have to get back to the temple and figure this all out. Senator, we hope you and Anakin will both be with us soon to establish a new Republic. I hope that your duty to your family will not keep you from remaining in politics," Obi Wan paused. "Anakin thinks you should be Chancellor. We tend to agree."

Padme smiled, suddenly a politician again for the first time in at least a day, "I hope to be back on my feet again soon as well. As to running for Chancellor, we'll have to see. Two babies is a lot of work," she smiled, then paused, her expression growing more serious. "He will be all right, won't he?" She looked at Anakin, the fear evident in her eyes. "This weakness, it goes away, right?"

"Go away, it should, very soon," Yoda said. "But be clear, Senator Amidala. Anakin Skywalker, weak, could never be. He remains strong in the Force. Physical weakness, he will overcome."

"And what you are wondering about, Senator," Obi Wan said, reading her thoughts, "Yes."

"Really?" She asked.

"Sensed it, I know Anakin did. Waited until you asked, he was going to." Yoda confirmed.

"I suppose we've ruined his fun now," Obi Wan laughed.

"About revising the code-do you think that-"

"Yes, I suppose it wouldn't be terrible for Younglings to be able to remain with their parents." Obi Wan said.

"Thank you," Padme replied. Then she realized something, "How am I supposed to deal with children who can read my mind? You know I don't like that."

"Why we took the Younglings from their parents, that was." Yoda said.

"Have fun!" Obi Wan joked. With that, the Jedi left.

Sighing, Padme looked at her children. "Just don't play tricks on me too much, all right?"

"Am I still allowed to play tricks on you?" Said a voice beside her. She turned to Anakin and smiled seductively, "Only when they're asleep."

"Well then never look at me like that when they're around. I won't be able to control myself." He smiled, and kissed her. They turned to their children, in perfect bliss.

"How long have you been awake?" She asked suddenly.

"Long enough to know Obi Wan ruined my secret," he said.

"Long enough to know the Code's been changed?" She asked.

"What?"

"You're still a Jedi Master, Anakin. And we can stay together."

He kissed her, happier than he had ever been. "This day was perfect," he said, smiling.

"Perfect, really? Even the war? The getting struck by Sith lightning part?" Padme asked, raising an eyebrow.

"That was the best part," he joked. Padme rolled her eyes, and a doctor came in to take the babies to have a check up and be put in the nursery. When the doctor left, Anakin put his arms around his wife and the two fell back asleep, peaceful, into a long needed rest.


	23. Chapter 23

**Ch. 23**

A week had passed, and Anakin and Padme were going to take the twins home for the first time in the morning. Anakin slept soundly on the hospital bed that he had demanded be brought into Padme's room for him, refusing to stay separated from her. Padme, however, was wide awake, staring at her husband and wondering how he could be so peaceful when they were about to bring two babies home to an apartment that neither of them had seen since the attacks of the previous week. It had only just occurred to her the day before that she didn't know what kind of shape their apartment was in- doctors checking on all four of them as well as a constant flow of Jedi and politicians wishing them well was enough to keep anyone busy. But along with this they had to deal with figuring out how to reveal all of this to the public, not to mention how to reorganize the government of the galaxy, so their time was certainly consumed. They had felt prepared to care for the babies, learning in the hospital how to treat them, and hadn't even thought about the house. They had already purchased some baby things very inconspicuously, making a nursery ready for their children. However, they didn't know what the place looked like now. Padme was becoming a nervous wreck, afraid that irresponsibility in this regard meant irresponsibility everywhere. She had always wanted to give her children a perfect life, but now it seemed that the beginning of their life at home would start with their parents unsure whether the apartment was even inhabitable. How she could have neglected to think of this was beyond her, but she was certainly thinking about it now. She supposed that she hadn't even let herself think about home, feeling like it would be just as it always had been. She had pushed the thought of it having been broken into far back in her mind, so that in the past week she had almost forgotten.

Anakin was in deep mediation, surrounding himself by the Force so that Padme would think he was asleep. He was listening to her worry about the babies' homecoming, and wanted desperately to reassure her that it would all be ok. However, that would ruin his surprise. He had asked Obi Wan and some other friends to check on Padme's apartment, and they had given good reports. The door had been broken down, but the only rooms that had been disturbed were the main room and Padme's bedroom. Apparently the clones had been intelligent enough to realize that she simply wasn't home, and that their time was better spent searching for her than trashing the place. The Jedi that remained on Coruscant had helped to clean up the place, having had little to do in the past week of peace on Coruscant. He knew that everything was in perfect order, and he and Obi Wan had commiserated over preparing the babies room and making it perfect for when they arrived.

Anakin couldn't believe how incredible Obi Wan had been to him lately. ThoughAnakin was the hero of the younger Jedi for getting the code changed, some of the older Jedi understandably resented him for having lived illegally under the radar for so long. The young ones not only still had their whole lives ahead of them to possibly find a love of their own and start families, but also had simply had less time in the Order to become attached to the old code. The older Jedi seemed to think the old code was better, and in some ways, Anakin knew, it was. But he also knew that they were probably angry that they had had to live their lives as Jedi under the stricter code, and now were really to old to start a life of their own. On top of all that, the fact that he had broken the code and yet remained the hero of not only the order but of the galaxy was obviously frustrating for many other Masters. But Obi Wan had been an incredibly loyal friend throughout, and Anakin couldn't help but laugh at how his friend, whom he had known as a strict and critical Master, was so soft and caring around the babies.

Unable to remain in his meditation any longer because of the distress Padme's thoughts were sending to him, he turned over to her and stared into her eyes. He could feel her calm down immediately, and he loved that his presence had this effect on her. Silently, he walked over to her bed and wrapped her in his arms.

"Everything will be fine," he said. "I promise."

"But Anakin, what if it is a mess? What if there's, there's glass and other harmful things everywhere? How can we bring them home to that? I can't believe we haven't-"

Anakin interrupted her, and, as much as he hated to do it, he Jedi mind tricked her to prevent her from practically hyperventilating. "It will be fine." He said.

"It will be- hey, don't you dare," she said, glaring at him.

"Sorry but you were so disturbed I had to do something. I forget how strong-minded you are," he joked, and she glared at him.

"Oh Force! They're going to do that to me, aren't they? I can't have children that can mind trick me. Anakin, they're going to be able to get away with anything! You had better grow up fast and be strict with them, or else they'll have no boundaries, I mean they'll be out all the time, we won't know where, they are-"

Again interrupting her, Anakin began to laugh. "I don't think we'll have to worry about that for quite some time Padme. They can't even roll over on their own yet, and you're worried about them being out all night partying. Don't worry, I'll keep them under control, I promise."

"It's not funny," she mumbled, and buried her face in his shoulder. He took her hands in his, and held them tightly.

"It's kind of funny," he said, kissing her.

She ran her hand up his arm, and suddenly noticed that it was severely scarred.

"Anakin, what happened?"

"Well you can't have expected me to escape a duel with a Sith Lord without some scars, can you?"

"I can't believe I never noticed before," she said, kissing his wounds. She suddenly noticed that there were burn marks from the Sith lightning on his chest, and gasped. "Anakin! You poor thing, look at you! I can't believe I haven't seen this before."

"We haven't seen each other without clothes on in a while… wow, that's a shame," he laughed, and she tried to glare at him again, her smile betraying her.

"Anakin, it's not funny, have the doctors even seen all of these?"  
"I uh… I didn't want them to tell me I couldn't be here. I didn't want to be alone in that awful treatment room any more. I mean, I'm fine, look, I'm here and not in pain, aren't I?"  
"Anakin, this is not a joke. You need these wounds to be treated. I can't believe you kept these from everyone."

"Padme, I promise you, I'm fine. Obi Wan knows, and he agrees I'll be fine. I put some bacta on them, nothing's wrong." He pulled his robes around him to block the scars. She looked at him, visibly upset, and he sighed. "Ok, look, we're at the temple, it's not as if I can't get here whenever I want. I'll come see the doctors again in a couple days, after we're settled in." She nodded in resignation, still looking into his eyes, worried. He pulled her close, hating to see her eyes like that. "Let's get some sleep, ok?" He said, and he soothed her through the Force, helping both of them to fall asleep in each other's arms.

The next morning, a very amusing scene met the eyes of anyone who stood on Anakin and Padme's path from the Temple to their speeder, and from their speeder into Padme's apartment. Anakin, calm as ever, carried Luke and Force levitated several bags in front of him. Padme, obviously very nervous, held Leia in her arms and carried one bag with her, taking several steps to Anakin's one and constantly bombarding him with questions about what they were going to do once they got home. He simply smiled at her and reassured her that all would be well. Anakin insisted that he drive the speeder, and Padme, realizing how jittery she was, agreed for the first time ever that they might actually be safer if he drove.

"But don't you _dare_ drive like you normally do now that you have your children in the car, or I will leave you. I will." She said, putting up the serious façade for which she was so famous and such a good politician.

Anakin, actually worried, swore to his wife the Senator that he would drive safely. He was half amused and half very scared to have Padme the politician back. She always intimidated him when she was being a Senator, but it was one of the things he loved most about her. Plus, they had a sort of mutual understanding- if Anakin got to use his Jedi influence on her, she got to use her Senator influence on him. It was certainly an interesting relationship, and no one really understood it but them.

Finally, they arrived home, babies and speeder all in tact, and Anakin opened the door. The sight that met Padme's eyes brought tears to them- all of her friends who had survived the war were there, and the apartment was perfectly cleaned up and in fact in better shape than how she had left it. Where normal friends would have put giant teddy bears and flowers, there were toys from the Temple's crèche that enhanced Force abilities, and training light sabers. Padme couldn't help but laugh at the fact that her children were a week old and the Jedi had already given them training sabers, but she supposed that if Anakin Skywalker was going to have children this was to be expected. Obi Wan was there, as well as Yoda, Mace, and the other Masters. The young Jedi who had protected the Younglings in the Temple with her was there, as were several Jedi whom she assumed were friends of Anakin. Several Senators who had survived the attacks were there. She smiled at Anakin, knowing immediately that he had had a part in this.

"You knew it was fine and you didn't tell me," she said, hitting him, trying to be angry but smiling.

"You're welcome," he said. She hugged him, and then hugged Obi Wan and her friends. Suddenly, she felt a tug on her dress, and noticed that another group of people had come to attend the homecoming as well- Younglings. Eivyn smiled up at her, and several of the children she recognized from the wait in the Council Room were there.

"I'm sorry, but they demanded to see 'Mrs. Skywalker,'" Obi Wan laughed, "It seems they knew before any of us did," he added, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes," Padme replied, slightly embarrassed, "Sorry." She smiled at the thought that the children had called her Mrs. Skywalker. She hadn't thought of herself as that yet at all, even in three years. It was wonderful to hear.

Anakin watched as Padme held the babies on the couch for the Younglings to see. He was happy that they were there- something was very reassuring to him about the Younglings. He knew what it was- part of what kept him from giving in to darkness was the thought of them, how they looked up to him. Mainly it was his dedication to the Jedi Order and to Padme and his own children, but for some reason the Younglings kept popping back into his mind when he was with Palpatine. He had seen how they revered him, and he couldn't let them down. It would be betraying them, and he could never have done that.

"Is this what you had in mind," Obi Wan asked him, interrupting his thoughts.

"It's perfect, thank you," Anakin said, and gave his old Master a hug. "Obi Wan, thank you for helping us so much- I couldn't have asked for a better friend."

"You saved my life ten times Anakin-"

"Eleven," Anakin corrected.

"Eleven times. And that last time, you actually risked your life for me. I could never repay you fully for that- this was all just a gesture."

"There is one more thing you can do," Anakin said.

"Anything, my friend."

"If something were to happen to me and Padme," Anakin began, hesitatingly.

"Judging by the odds so far Anakin, I don't think I would survive much longer if something happened to you," Obi Wan laughed. "But I would of course look after them."

"You know, I'm starting to see why Padme hates people reading her mind."

"It was the first time you put your guard down in a long time, my young friend. It was refreshing, actually." Obi Wan laughed.

"I didn't do that consciously," Anakin said. "Why would that happen?"

"It could be that you're still weak from Sidious' attack," Obi Wan began. "Or that you simply are so happy and relaxed now that you have nothing left to block."

"Probably the last one," Anakin, ever proud, replied.

"In some ways, you haven't changed at all, Padawan."

"Obi Wan, can I ask you something," Anakin began.

"You know you can ask me anything, Anakin."

"How do you feel about the new code? Many of the Masters seem kind of… mad at me," Anakin said, and Obi Wan laughed out loud as the pouting nine year old from Tatooine again stood in front of him.

"I don't know, Anakin. I was perfectly content with the old code, certainly. But I don't have any reason to be angry with you, or to dislike the new code. Who knows…" Obi Wan faded out, and it was obvious that he was wondering about his own future.

"You're still pretty young Master, and don't worry, I'll teach you how to deal with women," Anakin laughed, and was a step ahead of Obi Wan as his old Master got ready to attack him for his audacity.

Anakin ran to the couch and sat next to Padme. He hid behind her as if he and Obi Wan were two children chasing each other. Padme, bewildered, looked around, but Obi Wan had long given up and gone to talk to Yoda. Anakin kept peeking around for him, and Padme rolled her eyes. "Honestly, I have three children," She said. Anakin smirked at her, then settled down next to her to look at his children.

"Leia looks just like you, Padme," he observed, and this really touched Padme more than he knew. "She has your beautiful eyes." He smiled at Padme, and kissed her. "Padme, do you know how happy I am?"

She turned and looked at him, smiling. "Don't make me cry again Anakin," she warned, smiling at him with tears in her eyes.

"No, really. I've never had a real family before. It's such an amazing feeling, I mean to have these two children here who are actually related to me, by blood… it's the most real relatives I've ever had in one room before, do you realize that?"

"Anakin!" Padme smiled as tears now fell down her cheeks. "I love you so much. I sometimes forget how sweet you can be."

"I love you too. I told Obi Wan I'd help him meet women, you want to help?"

Padme rolled her eyes. "And now you're back," she muttered.

"What?" Anakin asked.

"Nothing," she sighed, and kissed him. Suddenly, she realized something. "Sith!" She shouted, and Anakin covered the babies' ears.

"Padme! No language in front of the babies!" He said.

"Anakin, my family… I haven't told them about any of this."

"You didn't? Not even that you were pregnant?"

"No, Anakin… we have to go to Naboo, and tell them."

"That will be wonderful- Luke and Leia can see where you grew up. You know, we should get a house there. A little vacation house for when we have time off- It's so beautiful there, by the lake, they would love it."

Padme was touched that Anakin would have this thought. "That's a wonderful idea. We can go to see my parents after the meeting about the New Republic tomorrow, maybe we could stay for a few days."

Anakin smiled at her and nodded. Leia began to fuss, and Padme knew it was time to feed her. As Anakin watched his wife feed his daughter, and he held his son close in his arms, his friends surrounding them in their apartment, he felt happier than he had ever felt in his whole life.

**Hello!** Ok so, I am going to write maybe one or two more chapters, and then I will end it. _But_, I am going to make a sequel that will be set in the future. I am deciding between making one or two sets of sequels- I definitely want one that would take place when Luke and Leia are about 20, like at the time of ANH and on, (I mean Anakin dealing with Leia dating? Too much fun to pass up. And yes Han will of course be there. Plus I can write in more kids of Anakin and Padme's- so exciting!) But I kind of want one with them as children too, like maybe four or five years after this. What do you guys think? Let me know, and I hope you are enjoying this! I love the reviews.

-sewardsfolly (P.S. first person who knows where my name comes from gets… special things, I don't know)


	24. Chapter 24

**Ch. 24**

Padme already missed Luke and Leia, even though she hadn't left the Temple's crèche yet. She and Anakin both had an important meeting to attend about reorganizing the Republic and searching out any other Sith that might be in hiding in the galaxy. For the first time ever in the week of the babies' existence, they were to be separated all day from their parents. Padme had been apart from them just one time before that- to attend a funeral for Bail Organa and several other important members of the Republic that had been killed in the attacks. It had been a lovely service, and she and Anakin had agreed it did justice to the lives of the incredible people who had sacrificed so much for the Republic. However, that had been evening, and the twins were sleeping soundly in their own home under the watch of none other than Anakin's old friend Kitster. He had watched them because it suddenly occurred to Anakin and Padme that they didn't really know that many people on Coruscant who weren't or Politicians that would be attending the service. This time, Padme was actually leaving the children in the hands of a stranger, Jedi crèche nurse though she may be, and this worried the young Senator greatly.

Sighing, she gave one last kiss to each of her babies, and after having been assured by Anakin and the nurse that the twins would be fine, she turned and left, unable to prevent tears from forming in her eyes.

"Padme, we'll be back to get them this afternoon, they'll be fine. You don't have to worry so much-"

"I'm sorry Anakin, but you can't blame me … you're always out in the galaxy, always in danger, and I don't even know where… I've gotten used to worrying when I'm separated from those I love."

Anakin hugged Padme, understanding her worry yet still thinking it was a little extreme. The babies were safer in the Jedi crèche than anywhere in the galaxy. In fact, he smiled; they were really safer inside the Jedi Temple than in Padme's own arms back at home. He put his arm around her and they left for the Senate- the meeting was to take place in one of the smaller Senate meeting rooms. All of the Jedi Masters had been asked to attend, as well as many Jedi Knights and older Padawans. Every surviving politician was asked to come, and they assumed that by noting who did in fact arrive, they would be able to tell who was a traitor and who had remained loyal to the Republic. Certainly those who had followed Sidious would have slunk in to hiding by this point, so they knew that whoever showed up at this meeting would be trustworthy. And just in case someone unfaithful did show up, in a room full of Jedi it would be hard for thoughts of betrayal to go unnoticed.

"So we're really going to do this?" Anakin asked Padme, referring to the fact that they had decided that just in case anyone was still uninformed, they would officially announce their marriage and the birth of their children, as well as the change in the Jedi code.

"Of course," she smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

"We're running very late," she noted, though it was useless to worry at this point, they were already on their way. "This way Anakin," she said, leading him through the halls that she knew so well as he wandered aimlessly, completely lost.

"Maybe if you hadn't spent so much time saying goodbye to Luke and Leia, as if we wouldn't see them again in five hours…" Anakin joked, but she didn't seem to find it funny.

"I just feel uneasy leaving them alone without…" She paused, and looked up at him.

"What?" He asked her, looking into her eyes.

"Without you. You're the only one who can fight off… anybody." She mumbled, knowing comments like this only served to bolster her husband's pride.

"I'm powerful Padme, but I'm not indestructible," he laughed, surprising them both with this show of at least some humility.

"You've grown up, Ani," she teased him, leaning in to his shoulder as they walked.

"You shouldn't let yourself think that everything's safe only when I'm around," he continued. "Something could happen to me, you know. I know it's not likely but you have to feel strong on your own. And don't pretend that you can't survive on your own- you are one of the strongest willed people I know, and its part of why I love you so much. You can be scary too, you know," he smiled.

"I know Anakin, I know, I just… let's not think about that right now."

They arrived at the door, and could hear that the meeting was already underway. Anakin could feel Obi Wan's annoyance at his lateness radiating from the room, but he could only laugh, knowing that Obi Wan wasn't really angry. Padme reached to open the door. "Wait," Anakin put his hand to hers, stopping her. He felt a very strange presence in the room, a dark presence, much like that of Sidious but far weaker. It was as if someone was halfway there, not quite a Sith but… "An apprentice," Anakin said.

"Ani, what are you talking about?"

"And a weak one, too. Padme, someone did betray the Jedi, only it wasn't me…and he's still here, parading around as a hero. I can feel the suppression of the Force around this room…" The anger and sense of betrayal was obvious in Anakin's voice. "Force, they should have killed Palpatine right away. He had time to send this one orders, I can tell, how could they be so stupid!"

"Anakin, please, don't do anything rash."

"Don't worry Padme," He smiled at her, that mischievous, cunning smile that she loved and hated at the same time. "When have I ever been rash?"

Anakin, sensing the darkness grow stronger, burst into the room, plunging his saber in the direction of the dark presence.

The entire room gasped as Anakin Skywalker burst into the room and struck down a young Jedi, everyone convinced that he had finally gone crazy or given in to the dark side. Anakin fished a light saber hilt out of the robes of the Jedi. He ignited it- blue. He sighed, frustrated, and, always able to shock people beyond comprehension, pulled a second blade out of the robes- bright, glowing red.

"Honestly, doesn't anyone use the Force anymore?" Anakin said casually, daring to crack the joke as he threw the hilt of the Sith blade down on the table and plopped himself into a chair. Padme simply sat down shakily next to him, her hand having never left his arm the entire time since he burst in the door.

The room was absolutely silent. Obi Wan stared at his former apprentice. It was absolutely shocking that no other Jedi in the room had felt it- but there it was, physical evidence of a Sith's apprentice right in their midst. What was more, Anakin was now pulling other, more obscure, Sith torture devices and weapons from the belt of the young ex-Jedi, just as if it was a regular days work. The most amazing thing was that the second Anakin had struck down the young man, Obi Wan felt the Force lighten. It was as if a darkness had been there that no one had even noticed- as if they had lived with it for a long time. He knew that the other Masters felt it too, all were looking around bewildered, shocked, and despite themselves utterly impressed with Anakin.

"So about hunting down any remaining Sith… looks like we covered that one well," Anakin continued.

"Anakin," Padme's tone warned him to stop.

"You're right, I'm sorry…. Well, now that that's done with, shall we continue the meeting?"

"Anakin," Obi Wan began, "How did you… how did you know?"

"Sensed it," Anakin replied, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "In truth, what I believe is that I just spent more time around the dark side than any of you- the moments in which I wavered on that edge got me more closely acquainted with the subtlety of the dark side. I was able to sense his presence because I myself have approached that feeling internally at one time- you all were searching only for a signal that would be much stronger, like in a Sith Lord." The Jedi Masters were quiet- but everyone in the room could tell that this explanation made sense to them.

"Well Anakin, it looks as if you've saved my life for the 12th time now," Obi Wan sighed, smiling at his Padawan.

"Well who's to say he would have killed you? Who was this anyway?"

"A Padawan, it seems. But none of ours. Killed in the battle, his Master must have been." Yoda spoke for the first time.

"Probably by his Padawan," Anakin added, and Yoda nodded.

"Perhaps, a trial of all Jedi there should be. To test allegiances," Yoda suggested.

"Or just set Anakin loose on everyone and see what happens," Obi Wan suggested, actually half serious, and despite themselves, many people laughed.

"I doubt that Sidious could have penetrated the Order more than once or twice," Anakin said. "If anyone else is working for him, I suggest that they are most likely on the Outer Rim."

"Agree with Young Master Skywalker, I do," Yoda said.

A Senator turned to Obi Wan and Anakin. "You two have served us beyond your duty already- but your success is unrivaled. It seems to me that it would make the most sense for you two to search out any other Sith apprentices on the Outer Rim."

"That actually brings me to something that I would like to discuss," Anakin answered him. "I have… a confession to make," he said, and the politicians in the room all turned to him. Most of the Jedi already knew, but the Politicians, to smart to believe tabloid headlines, still didn't know about their colleague's marriage to the Jedi hero. "Many of you probably saw the headline in last week's paper, the morning after the attacks, announcing that I was married to Senator Amidala."

Many people in the room began murmuring, most simply denouncing the gossip central that Coruscant had become and still not entirely sure what the young Jedi was about to 'confess' to them.

"Well," Anakin paused, looking at Padme. "It's true. Many of you already know this, but we wanted to confirm any doubts. We have been married for three years, and last week, Padme gave birth to our twins, Luke and Leia." Before anyone could even bring up the code, Anakin continued to explain the situation. "The code has been altered- it seems that Padme and my relationship has proven that attachment can be a good thing- I assure you that without her love and the coming birth of our children, I would have found it very difficult to resist Sidious when he tried to turn me- it is hard to say whether or not I would have held out against him so strongly. Attachment and love are no longer forbidden. On that note, Padme and I are going to take at least a week off to go to Naboo to see her family. After that, we do plan to live on Coruscant with our children and we will both be serving the galaxy loyally again. Our children are Force sensitive and we intend for them to be raised as Jedi. I am sorry for deceiving you all this time, but it was necessary with the conflict in the galaxy. Now, in this time of peace, we no longer have to hide."

He paused, and again the room was silent. Even the Jedi, who had known the basic details, were still amazed to learn the marriage had been going on for three years. The politicians were incredulous- only a few had even noticed that Senator Amidala was pregnant. She was one of the most well respected Senators- and the fact that she would be sneaking around with a Jedi, much less Anakin Skywalker, was certainly difficult for them to comprehend.

"You're obviously both very good at lying," one Senator began, "how are we to know that we can trust you now?"

"That is a good question, Senator," Padme began, again the very serious Senator. "But I can assure you, we never lied about anything involving our work. It was only personal- you're married yourself, you must understand that love is impossible to ignore. And we kept the secret _because _of our loyalty to our work- it would have been an enormous scandal for the Senate and especially the Jedi Order- the last thing we needed in such a time of turmoil was for the Republic to have its own personal problems to deal with. It would only have made us weaker."

"Many of us were going to suggest you serve as the First Chancellor of the New Republic," began another Senator. However, he said nothing more, unsure of his point.

As if voicing his thoughts, a female Senator spoke. "Why would Senator Amidala still not be an effective Chancellor? Many of us have families to attend to, and we all manage to serve faithfully. Her marriage is not illegal- the Code was changed. I still move to nominate Senator Amidala as Chancellor."

"But she has bean sneaking around scandalously with a Jedi for three years- even since he was still a Padawan. Do we want someone with so little self-control, such impulsiveness, serving us?" Asked another Senator.

"In Padme, er, Senator Amidala's defense, she tried to suppress our relationship at all costs, knowing the disaster of the situation," Anakin jumped at the chance to defend his wife. "It was only when we were sentenced to death, being led out to a stadium to be killed, that she admitted to her love for me- she thought that before we died, I should know. When we survived that, much thanks to Padme I might add, how could we have ignored a mutual love that we had both admitted to? You must all agree that it was better for us to keep it a secret than to further divide the Senate and the Jedi Order?"

"I agree," said another Senator, and most of the room voiced their agreement that they would have handled the situation in much the same way.

"Senator Amidala, we had in mind as well, for Chancellor," Yoda said. Many of the Senators have silent recognition that they still wanted Padme as Chancellor.

Padme was flattered, but not completely surprised. Before she had found out about her pregnancy, she had been planning to run for Chancellor during the next elections. However, at the same time Padme found out about her pregnancy, Palpatine gave himself even further emergency powers, and both of these things deterred her from even thinking about running. No elections were ever held, and the thought had gone to the back of her mind. However, she knew that she had had many supporters in the Senate, in fact almost unanimous support from the Senators who remained pure from Palpatine's corruption. But she didn't know if she could handle being Chancellor and raising her children.

"I will have to consider your generous offer," Padme began. "I am incredibly honored to be considered for the position, and the Senator in me accepts without further thought. However, I now have children to think about. I would like to be able to adjust to life with them, and then decide if I can handle being Chancellor. I again apologize for keeping this from all of you- it was, I will admit, disrespectful, but there was simply no other way to handle it, especially for Anakin. In the mean time, perhaps someone else should hold the position."

"We won't be able to re-organize the government fully for some time- battles still are breaking out in the Outer Rim, and the Jedi must attend to them. Many planets must find new representatives for this Republic- far too many Senators are dead or missing. It will be several months, at least. Would this be enough time?"

"I don't know," Padme replied. "I won't know until I've lived it with my children. But I hope so- this is obviously a once in a lifetime opportunity. The children have to spend time at the Temple even at this early of an age, so it may be that we are out of the house at the same time."

"In the mean time," said Obi Wan, "we must send many of the Jedi who remain on Coruscant out to the Outer Rim. I think that in terms of the government, the Senators who are here should try to work collectively to organize things, including elections on each planet that is now missing its representative."  
"I agree. We should meet again in another week- until then, I see nothing further to discuss. Any need for an emergency meeting should be addressed right away, and everyone present in this room should be informed," said a politician of some importance.

"In the mean time, be very careful," Mace said, "as Master Skywalker has just proved, there could be traitors everywhere. Don't wander around alone, and don't trust anyone fully, even those around us in this room.

"Anakin and I will be taking a week off," Padme began, "If you need to contact us, contact the Royal Palace of Naboo. I will make sure that the queen is safe and talk to her about our own government. I suggest you each contact your own planets and discuss with the leaders there the turn of events. Also, give a public address to the people of your planets to keep them updated."

"Thank you for your understanding in all of this," Anakin said.

With that, Anakin and Padme parted to go back to the apartment and pack, and then pick up the twins. Just another hour later, they were on Anakin's starship heading for Naboo, the four of them alone together for the first time.

**Hi!** Ok I'm thinking one or two more chapters. As to my name, the person who talked about seward, alaska was the closest but i've never lived there. when sec. of state william seward purchased alaska,everyone criticized him andcalled it seward's folly because they thought it was a stupid purchase b/c it was all ice and cold- then they all felt really dumb later when it turned out ot be a brilliant purchase on a number of levels. anyway, random history fact, and i honestly have nothing to do with alaska i never have lived there or anywhere near there its just something i learned and i thought it was cool. why am i saying this? I don't even know.

Review! Thanks for all the great ones.


	25. Chapter 25

**Ch. 25**

"Anakin, I have to warn you, my family likes you very much after meeting you as my body guard, but they will not be pleased that I have kept all of this from them for so long. And that's putting it mildly."

Anakin and Padme sat in the cockpit of the ship, each holding a baby and staring out at the stars together. The ship was in hyperspace, being flown by instrumental programming, so that they were able to enjoy the two days of flying as time alone together. The babies were very well behaved, and Padme and Anakin appreciated that they were able to actually get some rest after the long week that had just passed.

"I'm sure that they will be happy for you, Padme. Just knowing you're happy will be wonderful for them, even if they are initially shocked," Anakin tried to reassure her.

"Well… yes and no. Of course they want me to be happy, but this is a lot to take so suddenly... My parents worry about me very much- as happy as they were to see me successful in my chosen field, politics, they still don't like the fact that I left Naboo. I hardly ever see them, and when I do I am always worried about the problems of the galaxy. They don't really understand- they like to remain on Naboo, be family oriented and community oriented. They are wonderful people, informed and educated, and of course they want to help matters in the galaxy, but their idea of helping is donating to needy systems and volunteering on Naboo, for example. My chosen life was difficult for them, as proud as they are. You must understand that- they never showed me their worry, but it was clear to me that they were unsettled by my ambition at times.

"Now, I haven't been home in three years- the last time I saw them was with you…I have, of course, spoken with them as much as possible, but I recently haven't talked to them since the battles on Coruscant. I'm sure the news has reached them, so the fact that I haven't been able to contact them to tell them I'm all right is enough fuel for them to be angry- just because of the worry I put them through. This will certainly be… interesting."

"Padme, I have seen you persuade the most intimidating and influential politicians that you are right. And I know that your parents are extremely proud of you. I have complete confidence that you can handle your family."

She smiled at him, and even still, after three years of marriage, looking into his eyes made her blush and look down, butterflies in her stomach. His faith in her meant so much. Padme knew that Anakin truly believed that she was capable of achieving any goal she set, and this gave her confidence.

"When I left them more than three years ago I was so different Anakin, think of what's happened since then…look at us, we both look older and war-torn. I haven't really told them about the battles I've been in… The fact that I suddenly have children will not necessarily go over well. Our family is very close, so the fact that I kept my husband and children from them will not be taken lightly. I just want you to be prepared."

"Are you prepared?"

She looked at him, and couldn't help but laugh. "What do you think? Not at all…" She sighed, and looked down at Leia on her lap. The love she had for her new family was beyond anything she had ever felt before meeting Anakin. She couldn't have even imagined that such intense emotion was possible three years ago. She loved her Naboo family dearly, they meant the galaxy to her, but something about the love for her own children was so intense, and the love she had for Anakin was overwhelming. She scooted closer to Anakin, and he put his arm around her as they watched their children wiggle happily. The innocence of the children, so oblivious to the problems of the galaxy, was a constant source of calm for the Jedi and the Senator.

Luke yawned.

"My son is getting tired," Anakin said. "That's right Luke, rest up now so that you are the most powerful Jedi when you're older." He held his son up and kissed his forehead. "Just don't beat up on your old man too much, ok buddy? Ok?" He tickled Luke's stomach.

Padme laughed at him.

"What?" Anakin said, his cheeks turning red.

"Anakin you are adorable."

"No, I'm very intimidating," he said, really half serious, and she laughed harder. "Hey, I'm one of the most powerful warriors in the galaxy, remember?"

She kissed him, and ruffled his hair. "To me you're my little Ani, and adorable."

"Darth Sidious, the Sith Lord, didn't seem to think so," Anakin said defensively. However, what he didn't admit but both he and Padme knew was that he loved when she thought he was being sweet.

"Leia, you see, men like daddy get very flustered if you don't find them intimidating. It will make them all defensive like daddy, but really, they like it a lot," Padme paused, considering this. She kissed her daughter, and turned to Anakin, distressed. "Did I just give my week old baby advice on how to pick up men?"

Anakin's only answer was to pick up Leia. "Don't listen to mommy. She's trying to corrupt you early," he said, and tried to exit the room seriously. However, he couldn't contain his laughter, and rushed to make it out the door before he began laughing.

"Anakin!" Padme followed him, taking Leia back. They brought the children into the small room they all shared, and set them in their crib. Anakin rocked the crib back and forth, and Force soothed them until they fell asleep.

"Is it bad that you put them to sleep like that? It seems like it's almost a drug or something…"

"It's absolutely safe," Anakin reassured her. "I'm not forcing them to sleep, I'm just calming them down, the Force is very soothing. I do it to you all the-" Padme glared at Anakin, "um, never." He pulled her into a deep embrace.

"Don't think you can change the subject that-" His kiss interrupted her, "easily!" She said, his kiss again interrupting her. He pulled her down on to the bed, and rolled on top of her, smiling mischievously. Padme almost lost herself, but suddenly remembered the babies.

"Anakin, I don't feel comfortable doing that in front of them."

"They're asleep!"

"Still…"  
"Padme, we are supposed to share a room with them for at least six months. Are you really suggesting we can't be together at all for six months?"

"Well, we'll have some time alone..."

"They are a week old Padme, and sound asleep. The only thing they'll be aware of…is very positive Force energy," he smiled at her, raising his eyebrow.

"That really affects the Force?"

"Everything does," he answered her. He kissed her again, and she gave in to him.

"You're lucky you're so irresistible to me," she said, and then was quiet as they made love for the first time in at least a week.

The next morning, Anakin took over the controls of the ship as they steered into Naboo. Padme was again as nervous as she had been when they brought the babies home on Coruscant for the first time. She had always known it would be difficult to tell her family about this, but the sudden realization that she would actually have to do it was dawning on her. How could she have kept all of this from them? Her mother would not take lightly that her baby girl suddenly had two babies of her own… and her father, well… Anakin would just have to keep his light saber close at hand.

"We're going to have to somehow keep the babies away until I tell them," she thought out loud, and Anakin just nodded, navigating his way through a strangely large number of ships around Naboo.

"Why are so many ships here?" He asked Padme. "Is this normal?"  
"Oh Force!" Padme suddenly realized, "I completely forgot what month it was!"

"What?" Anakin asked, confused.

"This is a time of celebration for the Naboo- the biggest holiday we have on the planet. It celebrates the time that Naboo became a democratic world, when the queen was first elected instead of descended from the Royal Family…I'm probably supposed to be here now, how could I forget! I think I'm supposed to make a speech!" Padme's voice kept getting louder, until Anakin put his hand over her mouth.

"Well then," he said calmly, "It's good that we're here." Padme tried to act calm, but her worried eyes betrayed her.

Anakin expertly dodged the ships surrounding them, Padme gasping each time, sure that they would hit one but always aware that Anakin was the best pilot in the galaxy. Suddenly, she realized he was headed in the wrong direction.

"Anakin, don't go to the public spaceport. Go to our own!"

"You have your own spaceport?" He asked, incredulous.

"Um…yes," Padme said, slightly embarrassed.

"I grew up a slave," Anakin said, with no real point but to embarrass her further. "And you have your own family spaceport." He looked at her, and laughed.

"Yeah well it certainly didn't seem to hurt your pride or anything," she said sarcastically.

A voice suddenly came over the ships transmitter. "Landing code please?"

"N6354, A," Padme recited, and Anakin just rolled his eyes.

"Your highness!" The voice said, obviously surprised. "Thank goodness you're safe. Your family will be overjoyed."

"I'm not the queen any more, Tal," Padme replied. "No need for the title."  
"The title remains, your highness," the man answered. Then he laughed, "Welcome back Padme."

"It's good to talk to you again old friend," she said. "Could you do me a favor and not tell my family I'm here yet?"

"Well… Sola has already demanded that I let her know if I hear anything from you. I won't tell your parents though, I wouldn't want to- you can deal with that yourself…And who is flying the craft?"

"Anakin Skywalker," she answered, and she smiled at her husband, her hand on his arm.  
"Master Skywalker," The man said, obviously familiar with the Jedi, "I wish I could express the thanks of the whole planet for what you have done for the galaxy."

"It's only my duty," Anakin answered, trying hard to be humble. "You're welcome, and I really mean it. I am just honored to be able to help."

"You are cleared. Land safely!"

"Thank you, Tal," Padme said.

"So," Anakin began, "Looks like they heard the news about the war here."

"Of course, it's been a week," Padme muttered.

"You haven't told your parents you're ok?"

"I warned you this would be difficult, Anakin. All communication was cut off from Coruscant, surely you realized that."

"I don't have anyone else that wasn't on that planet, Padme. Who would I have tried to contact? Obi Wan and I were stationed on Coruscant, and the only people I love were safe with me. My family on Tatooine hasn't spoken to me since the… incident there…" Padme smiled at him, feeling what almost qualified as pity for her husband. She felt awful for having brought up the fact that he had no real family left…

But Anakin, if he was at all discouraged, didn't show it.

"Well then," he said, "here's to us!" With that, he flew quickly and easily onto the landing pad. Immediately, Padme saw Sola standing there, her arms crossed. Obviously Tal had contacted her. And she didn't look happy. Padme sighed, knowing she should have found a way to let her family know she was safe.

"Anakin… stay with the babies here. I'll… I'll have to tell Sola now, there's no other way…and then… maybe she could take them for a while- while we tell Mom and Dad."

Anakin nodded, always happy to spend time with his children, and Padme ran off of the ship to embrace her sister.

At first, Sola refused to respond to her sister's hug, but finally, she gave in, tears in her eyes, and hugged Padme tightly. Suddenly, Sola pushed her sister away, angry again.

"Attacks on every senator on Coruscant? Death toll enormous? Clone troops turning on the Republic? You not showing up for an important speech on Naboo? And you didn't even contact us? Do you have _any_ idea how worried we've been, Padme? Mom and Dad are going to be so angry, but so incredibly relieved. They've hardly slept in a week; no one knew if you were safe, we haven't seen you in _three years_, haven't talked to you in at least a month… for all we knew you were _killed_ Padme."

"I… I know, I'm sorry," was all Padme could manage to say.

"Just be prepared for mom and dad, little sister," Sola said. "I'm so glad to see you again." She gave her another hug, then stepped back to look at her sister. "You look awful, Padme, what did happen to you?"

"Thanks a lot, Sola," Padme frowned.

"That's not what I mean, you look beautiful as always- you know you're the pretty one," Sola laughed. "You just look… so worried… your eyes are older."

"I've been through a lot, Sola. A lot more than I have ever told you," Padme said. She knew she couldn't avoid the truth for much longer.

"You have scars, wounds!"

"Yes, it's been a very stressful time. I've been in several battles I never really told you about… but I'm fine now, and I will explain everything now that the war is over."

"I will never understand you, Senator," Sola smiled at Padme. "I'm just glad you're all right. Later, you'll have to tell me everything you've been through. Let's get you home, for the first time in three years." Sola began to walk out, but Padme put a hand on her sister's arm, and the look Padme gave Sola let the older sister know that something very important had happened.

"What is it, Padme? I knew something else was bothering you. Are you all right? You aren't sick are you?"

"Listen to you," Padme laughed, "You sound like mom… no I'm not sick. I'm fine, in fact… I'm better than I've ever been, Sola."

"If I didn't know you were over-devoted to your job, I'd think you had a boyfriend, little sister."

Padme smiled, almost sheepishly, and her sister knew she had hit the mark.

"Who is it Padme? Who finally got you to forget the politics?"

"First of all, Sola, I did not forget the politics. In fact, they want me to be Chancellor of the New Republic."

"What?" Sola could not believe it. She was happy for her sister, but she knew that meant seeing even less of her. "Congratulations, that's absolutely wonderful… I just wish we could see you more. When you're Chancellor, make a law that the Chancellor must be able to go home every once in a while, ok?" Sola smiled, "So is there a guy, or isn't there?"  
"Sola… sit down."

"This must be serious then," Sola now looked concerned.

"Sola, the reason I look different to you is because I'm bigger- I'm still carrying weight from… from when I was…um…" Suddenly, Padme couldn't bring herself to tell her. She had never been unable to speak before; she was famous for her convincing speeches to politicians, and this was just her sister. But how could she tell her older sister, in whom she had confided everything since she was a little girl, that she had kept something so huge from her.

Luckily, Sola, having given birth twice herself, suddenly knew exactly what Padme was talking about.

"You were pregnant, Padme?" Sola said quietly, and, clearly ignorant of Padme's marriage, couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. "As a senator? No wonder you look stressed. Padme, what were you thinking? They didn't kick you out of office did they? Why do I even care about that, how are you? Who is the father, does he even know? You never even told me you slept with anyone recently Padme, how could you keep this from me? I'll even give you that I understand being afraid to tell mom and dad, but how could you not tell me? You know I would have helped you. I can't even believe this Padme, it's very irresponsible. You were so successful…"

Padme, though she knew that in seconds it would all be cleared up, couldn't help but be hurt by her sister's comments. However, it amused Padme how much Sola had started to sound like a mother now that Ryoo and Pooja were a little older.

"Sola, you've begun to sound so much like mom," Padme said.

"Well, apparently you had better start to as well," said Sola, standing up and looking away from Padme. "You're my baby sister Padme, this is so hard to believe…How could you let this happen to yourself?" Suddenly, Sola realized the absence of the baby they had been talking about. "Where is your baby, anyway? You kept it, didn't you?"

Now Padme laughed, she couldn't help it.

"How is this funny, Padme?"

"Sola, my babies are on the ship."

"Babies?"

"Twins, a boy and a girl. Luke and Leia. And their father is on the ship with them... We're married, Sola."  
"_What?_" Now Sola really couldn't believe it. She stood silently for what seemed like hours. She didn't know if this was better or worse than before. "You got married and you didn't tell me, then you had _two_ babies and didn't tell me, and now you're hiding them on the ship as if they're some huge secret?"

"Well how would you have reacted if I walked off the ship with two babies?"  
"I suppose I see your point there… but who is he Padme, I can't stand this anymore, just, please, be honest and tell me everything."

"Sola," Padme said, putting her hand on her sister's shoulder. "The reason I couldn't tell you, or anyone, is because my marriage was illegal up until a week ago. It would have created enormous problems on Coruscant, and throughout the galaxy." Sola turned to her, utterly confused.

"Illegal? By what law?"

Padme paused, then looked into her sister's face. "By the Jedi code." Padme paused, letting Sola take this in. "My husband… you know him Sola. It's Anakin Skywalker."

Sola was silent for a long time. She turned to Padme, and suddenly gave her a big smile.

"Padme, he's the hero of the galaxy! That's… that's every girls dream now, you know, my own daughters have already decided they will marry Anakin Skywalker when they're older- imagine their shock when Aunt Padme already has… I hope you realize that everyone in the galaxy loves him…" Sola laughed. "I knew you had feelings for him, I could tell when we met him three years ago. He was infatuated with you, but of course I thought nothing could happen because of the code. I never would have expected you to break the laws."

Padme smiled at her sister. "The code has been changed now, because of Anakin and me. Because he saved the galaxy and sacrificed himself even with emotional attachments… he proved that love can be good thing for a Jedi, and they changed it."

"But I can't believe that you of all people would have married illegally."

"You should understand, Sola. Love cannot be ignored," Padme smiled, her love for Anakin twinkling in her eyes.

"You really, really love him Padme, don't you? I can't believe I couldn't tell…Well, let him out of that ship, I want to see him again! I've wanted to meet him again anyway, due to his incredible work as a Jedi, but now to find out he's my brother in law… You're lucky, Padme, he seems wonderful."

"He is," Padme smiled. She walked up to the entrance of the ship, and smiled as she saw Anakin had fallen asleep in his chair with the babies also sleeping in his arms. She walked over and kissed him, and he woke up.

"Sola knows," she said. "And she's very happy for us, now that I've explained everything. Come out and meet her again. She can't wait to see you, and to meet her niece and nephew."

Sola couldn't prevent the tears from forming in her eyes as she saw her sister walk out of the ship with Anakin Skywalker and two tiny babies, one in each parent's arm. She rushed over to them, enamored of her niece and nephew.

"Padme," Sola started, then was at a loss for words.

"This is Luke," Padme said, "and this is Leia."

"They're beautiful, Padme. I can't believe you're a mother, you're supposed to be the baby, not have babies of your own!"

Padme smiled. "And this," she said, "As you must remember, is Anakin."

Sola looked up at the Jedi Master in front of her, almost in awe of the whole situation. She couldn't believe her sister was married to a Jedi Knight, for so long it had been illegal. Looking at the older and wiser Anakin, she couldn't help but understand Padme's physical attraction to him. She laughed to herself at this thought. Anakin held out a hand to shake hers, but she instead rushed to give him a hug. "It's a pleasure to see you again, Master Skywalker. The last time I saw you, you were just a young Padawan."

"Please, m'lady," Anakin said. "Please, call me Anakin. We're family!" Sola's hug had felt so nice to Anakin-to finally have family to call his own, people to care about and spend time with just to be together was more than he could have ever hoped for. It was amazing to be loved by someone other than Padme and the Jedi, to be cared about simply as a person and not as a warrior.

"Of course, Anakin. And call me Sola. Anakin… thank you for all that you've done for the galaxy, it's just amazing. Have you two even seen the Holo Net lately? Anakin's everywhere, so is Obi Wan Kenobi…"

"We actually haven't," Padme said. "We were in the middle of it all, we didn't need to be reminded by the Holo Net…"

Anakin put his arm around Padme, on the side with the mechanical hand, and Sola noticed it. "Anakin, what happened to your hand?" She gasped.

"Count Dooku cut it off," he told her.

Sola gasped.

"Yes- he was stronger that time, but it's ok, I killed him just recently," Anakin said, obviously happy with his revenge.

"Anakin, enjoying revenge is not the Jedi way," Padme told him. Sola just stared at him, opened mouthed.

"Um, thank you _Master_," Anakin joked. Padme leaned in to him, the only form of hug she could give since they both had a baby in their arms. He kissed her, and they looked in to each other's eyes lovingly.

"You two really are in love," Sola smiled. "Now I really believe you Padme. How long have you been married?"

"Well, prepare yourself for this," Padme paused, "three years."

"What?" Sola was again shocked, but got over it more quickly this time. "Wow. Have fun explaining that to mom and dad."

"Actually, we were wondering if you would watch Luke and Leia for us so we can tell them… then of course I want everyone together so that I can tell you what else has happened to me. It's been extremely emotional and intense. I'm sure I can give you a better report than the Holo Net, and there are several matters to discuss in terms of reorganizing the galaxy and the continuing battles on the Outer Rim. It's imperative that you all understand what's going on," Padme said.

"Padme, I'm your sister, not the Senate," Sola said. "Do you ever get to be just Padme anymore?"

"Of course," Padme smiled warmly. "I've just gotten used to being professional with everyone but Anakin, we tried so hard to cover up our relationship and act businesslike…We have a lot to catch up on, Sola, including seeing my brother in law and nieces again. Where are they?"

"At home. They will be incredibly excited to see their cousins," Sola said. "And Anakin, you're going to have two little girls following you around everywhere, I hope you're prepared. You're a hero to them."

"Please, don't bolster his confidence any more, he doesn't need it," Padme teased Anakin, and Anakin tried to look nonchalant as if Sola's words hadn't made him over-proud.

Sola laughed. "We'll all come over later, hopefully mom and dad will take the news… well… non-violently."

"It's ok," Padme said, "they can't beat Anakin, so it would be silly to try." She smiled at him. "See, I do compliment you sometimes."

"I would never hurt your family, Padme. I'd let them kill me first," he said, then thought for a second. "Well… maybe I would defend myself a little."

They all laughed, and Sola agreed to take the babies to her home. Sola took the babies and the babies' luggage, and Padme and Anakin took their own luggage and walked across the fields to The Naberrie house, hand in hand, ready to face the hardest battle yet- confessing their relationship to Padme's parents.


	26. Chapter 26

**Last Chapter!** But it will be long, I promise, possibly the longest of all. And then, sequels! I have a lot of fun writing this story… anyway, enjoy!

**A.N.** (10/09/05) SEQUEL NOW UP! It is called 'Attachment,' please check it out! Hope you enjoy it, let me know!

Ch. 26 

Anakin lifted his mechanical hand to knock on the Naberrie's door, but Padme held him back. She took a deep breath, but when she looked at him, she laughed, despite herself.

"Are you ready for this?" She asked him.

"I thought I was, but you're so apprehensive that I'm starting to think there's something terrible I don't know about your family," he replied, smiling at her.

"No, they're wonderful, you know everything, I just am feeling so guilty for keeping this from them- I know they won't be happy."

"Not at first, but when they see how happy you are, they will be overjoyed. I will make a wonderful son-in-law, you'll see," he laughed, and kissed her. She smiled at him, her eyes twinkling, and he just smiled back dumbly, lost in her eyes. He was so in love with her, even after all this time, and her smile just made his heart flutter every time he saw it.

"All right," she sighed, and knocked.

The door opened, and Padme saw Sabe standing at the other side. She breathed a huge sigh of relief, and hugged her friend.

"M'lady, thank goodness, we were all so worried about you. I felt terrible being on Naboo while you were in danger on Coruscant, are you all right?"

"Sabe, I'm the one who told you to stay home and relax," Padme smiled. "I'm fine, it's wonderful to see you again." She paused, "They're mad aren't they?"

"Well, they have hardly slept in a week…" Sabe said timidly.

"Oh, they're going to be so mad when they find out about… Sabe, you must stay in here when I talk to my mother and father. I have something important to tell all of you."

"Oh, no m'lady, I would feel intrusive. You should tell your family whatever it is first."

"You wouldn't be intrusive at all, Sabe! You are my friend, and I want you to know this information, please, stay for me."

"Padme, it sounds like this is important, imagine your parents feelings if they find out at the same time as one of your handmaidens- as your parents, they should know first," Sabe finished.

"I suppose that's true- I certainly do need you, Sabe, to make wise decisions for me," Padme smiled. "But come talk to me later, I've needed a friend to share this with for so long."

"Of course. Your parents are in the main room. I won't tell them you're here, you can deal with that on your own." Sabe laughed, then caught herself and bowed respectfully, and walked out.

"Does it ever bother you that she is so proper and submissive?" Anakin asked.

"Yes- she is a good friend of mine and I wish it could be just that- but it is her job, and her duty to act that way. I can't ask her to stop it, in fact I am supposed to demand that respect, though clearly it makes no difference to me… When we are just talking alone, she is more herself, more of just a friend…"

They stood in silence for a few minutes, when a voice rang out interrupting their thoughts. "Sabe, who is at the door?" It was a female voice, full of worry and sadness. In fact, it sounded as if she had been crying.

"Oh, they're upset even right now," Padme said, sadly. Taking a deep breath, she walked over to the entrance arch of the main room, leaned on the frame, and smiled shyly at her parents. At first, they said nothing, hardly able to comprehend the image of their daughter standing in front of them after they had worried about her for so long.

"Hi," Padme said timidly, somehow unable to find anything else to say.

Jobal rushed to her daughter and embraced Padme in tears. Ruwee walked over more slowly, then also threw his arms around his youngest daughter. However, both then looked at her sternly.

"Padme Amidala Naberrie, where have you been? After what happened on Coruscant, how could you not contact us? We feared for your life, the Senators were targets! And the fact that you didn't show up for your speech, is so unlike you- Padme I've been so worried about you," her mother said, unable to contain her emotion.

"I know, I'm so sorry," Padme said, holding the hands of her mother and looking at her father. "All communication was cut off from Coruscant directly following the attacks, and when it was brought back, I was, well…" She paused, and looked at them. Suddenly, she realized Anakin wasn't there. "Wait, I have to get someone," she ducked out into the hall, and Ruwee and Jobal looked at each other in disbelief.

"She comes home for one minute, begins to explain herself, then cuts herself off immediately and goes out to 'get someone?'" Ruwee asked. The parents looked at each other and sighed. "At least she's safe…" He shook his head, amused, and smiled at his wife, putting his arm around her reassuringly.

Padme walked back into the room, leading Anakin by the hand. However, as soon as they passed under the arch she dropped his hand right away, obviously afraid of what her parents would think. It took a lot of Jedi patience for Anakin to suppress laughter at the idea that his 27 year-old Senator wife was afraid to be seen holding a man's hand in front of her parents, especially a man to whom she was married.

"Master Skywalker!" exclaimed Ruwee, and Jobal rushed to hug the Jedi. "Thank the Force you are safe as well, we feared the worst for both of you on Coruscant. It is a pleasure to see you again. And congratulations on your successes," Ruwee shook his hand.

"It is wonderful to see you again as well, Mr. Naberrie. And please, call me Anakin."

"Have you been protecting Padme all this time?" Jobal asked. "I can't even express our thanks, she is so stubborn and refuses to have a team of bodyguards, it is reassuring to know the Jedi are looking out for her."

"Yes, I have kept her safe, but really it is her own intelligence and quick thinking that keeps the both of us safe much of the time," Anakin smiled at her, and Padme blushed. Jobal looked at them, and Padme couldn't help but detect an amused and interested smile on her mother's face. However, Ruwee seemed oblivious.

"And are you all right? From the news, it seems as if you have been through quite a bit, and we worry about you too- you're almost like family, as Padme's protector," Jobal said, her voice full of compassion for the boy whom she knew had no parents of his own.

"That's…wonderful to hear," Anakin smiled at Padme. 'Maybe this will be easier than we thought,' he thought to himself, and he knew Padme was thinking the same thing.

"We have so much to tell you about the attacks, and the past few weeks," Padme began, "Mom, dad, they want to make me Chancellor of the New Republic!"

"Padme, that's fantastic!" Ruwee exclaimed, "I can't believe that my little girl is going to be Chancellor, I couldn't be prouder."

"Well, that's only if I choose to accept it…"

"Why wouldn't you?" Jobal asked, a note of hope obvious in her voice, "Are you considering coming home? Giving up politics?" She paused. "I'm sorry, I want you to be successful, dear. I just miss you so much while your gone," she gave Padme another hug, and Padme smiled. "Congratulations about being Chancellor."

"Do find some time to come home though," Ruwee said, "I can't stand not seeing you for years at a time!"

"Well," Padme said, "That's kind of what I want to talk to you about. I'm highly considering accepting the nomination for Chancellor, but…"

"What is it?" Jobal asked. "Is something wrong?"

"You aren't sick are you? The best doctors are here on Naboo, you know; so don't consider going back to Coruscant if you're sick. You're all right aren't you?"

Padme smiled at her parents, then looked at Anakin as if to say 'I told you so.'

"I'm fine, mom and dad. I'm not sick," she answered.

"Thank the Force, I couldn't have dealt with anything more to worry about after all of this, especially concerning you," Jobal said. "Having you out in space, who knows where, running the galaxy is very hard on us, you know."

"I know it is, but hopefully I'll be spending more time with you, even if I am Chancellor. I have to tell you something," Padme tried again.

"Are you in danger? There's not another assassination threat is there?" Ruwee asked worriedly.

Anakin couldn't help it anymore. He laughed, and Padme shot him a deadly look.

"I'm sorry, I just find it amusing," he turned to Padme's parents. "What she has to tell you is good news! You didn't even consider that," he said, and they looked at him- clearly this idea had not even occurred to them.

"You're right…we do worry a lot, it's just that there's been so much bad news lately…it's not easy having your daughter become a famous politician, hearing about her life from the HoloNet instead of firsthand," Jobal smiled and turned to Padme, and put her hand on her daughter's shoulder. "What is it? What is the good news?" Suddenly Jobal gasped, thinking she had found the right answer, and asked, "Do you have a boyfriend? Who is it, Padme, I'm so glad you're finally finding a life outside of politics."

"A boyfriend?" Ruwee asked, "he'd better be respectful of you Padme, he does treat you well doesn't he? It was so difficult for me when Sola got married, and you the youngest… it's hard to let you go, he is good to you isn't he?"

"Mom, Dad, I haven't even told you anything yet!" Padme laughed.

"Oh, you're right, we're sorry. What is it?" Now Ruwee and Jobal both stared at Padme, and she knew it was time to let the truth out.

"You could say I have a boyfriend…" Padme sighed. "Why don't you two sit down," she suggested.

"Nothing bad happened did it? You're all right aren't you?" Jobal asked, as she went to the couch.

"You didn't let someone take advantage of you, did you Padme, if you did I will find him for you. I can't let anyone hurt my daughters," Ruwee said.

"Dad!" Padme exclaimed, a little shocked. "No… Anakin already told you it's good news!"

"Well what is it Padme, I can't stand the wait any more," Jobal said.

Padme sat down across from them, and Anakin sat next to her. She looked straight into her parents' eyes.

"Mom, dad… I got married," she sighed. There it was- how would they react to that.

"_What!_" Jobal exclaimed. "You got married and you didn't tell us? We weren't invited to the wedding! Padme, I am happy for you, but I'm also very saddened and insulted! We didn't even know you were seeing anyone, how could you keep this from us? Married?" She paused, taking it all in, nothing more to say.  
"I didn't even get to give you away, Padme, my youngest daughter," Ruwee said sadly, and it broke Padme's heart. "How could you keep this a secret? This is something families should share, I thought you trusted us."

"Who is he," Jobal asked, but suddenly her motherly instinct took over, and she knew. She spoke to Padme with her eyes, looking at Anakin and seeing Padme nod and smile.

"Congratulations," She said simply, smiling brightly at her new son-in-law.

"Who?" Ruwee asked, wondering how Jobal could communicate with Padme without any visible motion by either of them. "Padme, who is your husband?"

"It's Anakin, dad." Padme said, and she took Anakin's hand.

"Anakin?" Ruwee said, looking at the Jedi in front of him. He looked him up and down, unsure really of why, and then looked back to Padme, sternly. "Padme, he's a Jedi knight, you know that's illegal don't you?" He turned back to Anakin. "You told her didn't you? You didn't let her marry illegally against her knowledge-that's very irresponsible; I would have thought more of a Jedi. How could you marry when your code specifically outlaws it? I thought more highly of you Anakin… and now you've taken my daughter from me, illegally, without my knowledge. You know, it is customary for the man to ask the father's permission first- old tradition I know, but customary, especially on Naboo." Ruwee finished, and frowned, his hands across his chest. Jobal looked at him, concerned, half agreeing with him and half compassionate for Anakin and Padme. She put her arm on Ruwee's shoulder and looked around, unsure of what to say.

"Daddy!" Padme yelled, and looked at him angrily. "I did, of course, know it was against Jedi Code, I'm a Senator, remember? Anakin forced me into nothing- you should understand, love is impossible to ignore," she looked pleadingly at her father. "We are incredibly happy together and in fact, because Anakin proved that he could do his duty impeccably even with emotional attachment, the code was changed. It is now legal for Jedi to be in relationships, even to marry and have children, because of Anakin. Because he sacrificed himself for the Republic- do you know he risked his life for his former Master, Obi Wan Kenobi? He is a wonderful person and you should be very happy for us. I love him, very much."

"And I love and respect your daughter more than anyone in the galaxy," Anakin told them. "I would do anything to keep her safe and happy. I would have asked your permission in any other circumstance Mr. Naberrie, but you have to understand why we couldn't tell anyone about our relationship- it would have been an extraordinary scandal, and during the war we were both needed to do our duties."

Jobal rushed over to give Anakin another hug. "Welcome to the family," she said. "I have always liked you Anakin, I'm sure you are wonderful to Padme. I just wish I could have seen the ceremony- when was it?"

"Well…" Padme paused, knowing that her father was still upset. "We had to keep this a secret for a long time, because of the war and because of our positions. We were able to reveal our secret now, in peace time… we've been married three years."

Her parents were silent. They couldn't comprehend how their daughter, in a family so tightly knit as theirs, could have kept a marriage secret from them for three years. They were happy that she had found love, but both felt betrayed to have been kept in the dark about the secret.

"When you two were here last…were you…?" Jobal couldn't finish the question, but everyone knew what she was asking.

"No…directly after that, we were in a serious battle, which I will certainly tell you about later if your interested. In fact, it was the battle that began the clone wars. We had already fallen in love, but had tried to ignore it because of the laws. We thought we were doing to die, and I admitted my love to him. When we survived, there was no way to ignore it. We were married directly after that, and have been in love and extremely happy ever since. I wish you could have known, I've wanted to share this with you for so long, but I simply couldn't. It had to be kept a complete secret, even Anakin's former Master, Obi Wan Kenobi, did not know until a week ago."

"I only wish we could have shared this with you, Padme…" Jobal said sadly.

"But your marriage is now legal?" Asked Ruwee.

"Yes, completely. The code has been changed permanently so that Jedi can have emotional attachments, get married and… have children." She tried to emphasize the last part, hoping her mother would catch on without her actually having to tell them about Luke and Leia. Unfortunately, the idea that Padme already had children was the last thing on either parents mind.

"Well then, I suppose we should congratulate you," Ruwee said slowly. He stood up and shook Anakin's hand. "I just hope that you know to treat her well. Be good to her, or you will have to deal with me. I know you're the most powerful warrior in the galaxy, but a father's love is more powerful than anything."

"I know," Anakin said forcefully, and Padme glared at him. But Anakin wanted them to know, it was silly to continue to keep the secret and he was sick of it. And this time, Jobal suspected something. Padme hid her head behind Anakin's shoulder, but he just smiled.

"What do you mean, you… you know…?" Jobal couldn't ask him directly, it was too much.

Anakin grabbed Padme's hand tightly, encouraging her to tell them. Finally, she turned around, ready to give away the last part of their secret.

"Last week…." Padme began, then paused. However, she finally managed to summon all of her courage. They would be happy, they had to be happy about having more grandchildren, they worshipped Pooja and Ryoo. "Last week, I couldn't contact you even after the communication was restored on Coruscant because I was in the hospital. I…I was giving birth to our twin babies, Luke and Leia. I'm so sorry I couldn't tell you I was pregnant, but you must understand that even more so than our marriage, my pregnancy would have caused extraordinary uproar in the Senate and I know that many Jedi would suspect Anakin as the father. During the war, it simply wasn't feasible for anyone to know about it." She was now squeezing Anakin's hand very tightly, and it was beginning to hurt him. He removed his hand from hers, walked to her other side, and slipped his mechanical hand into her other hand. She understood his message, and began to laugh, finally letting her nervousness go.

"I understand… in fact, I'm overjoyed. More grandchildren, they must be beautiful, seeing you two… I just can't believe that my last baby has had babies of her own. When can we see them? Where are they?" Jobal hugged Padme again, and then hugged Anakin.

Ruwee walked over, and slowly shook Anakin's hand and put his own hand on Padme's shoulder. "Congratulations, sweetie," he said, and she smiled up at him.

"They're beautiful, I can't wait for you to meet them. They're with Sola right now, Tal told her I was landing and she met me angrily on the platform," she smiled, and her parents laughed. "Trust me, her reaction was just as bad, if not worse, than yours. But she agreed to take them for me while I Told you. I really am so sorry you had to find out like this, but it was sadly the only way. The important thing is, we're all here now together. They should be coming soon."

Right on cue, Ryoo and Pooja burst into the room and embraced Padme, a laughing Sola and her husband right behind them with Luke and Leia.

"Baby Luke spit up but it's ok because mommy says babies do that a lot, that even I did it. Then we played with them but they don't really do very much because they're too little, and I tried to get them to play with my toys but mommy says they don't know how to do that yet because I'm a big girl and Leia's just a little one," Ryoo announced, breathlessly.

"Aunt Padme's married to Master Skywalker! Aunt Padme's married to Master Skywalker!" Pooja exclaimed, running in after her sister.

"There he is!" Ryoo pointed, and they turned to Anakin and stood in front of him, staring up at him. They looked at each other, wide-eyed, and then just looked back up at him silently, frozen.

"Girls, remember your manners!" Sola scolded them. "Why don't you introduce yourselves to Anakin."  
"Hello Master Skywalker I'm Ryoo!" Ryoo rushed to get it all out before becoming silent again.

"Hello Master Skywalker I'm Pooja!"

"It's very nice to meet you," Anakin said, laughing. "You two are lovely, just like your mother and aunt."

They stared at him, wide-eyed and blushing from his complement. They looked back at each other in disbelief, and resumed staring at Anakin in awe. He smiled awkwardly, amused by the little girls.

Jobal rushed over to Sola and her husband A.N. does he have a name?.

"Are these my grandchildren?" She asked, taking Luke into her arms.

"Yes, that is Luke and this is Leia," Sola answered.

Padme and Ruwee both walked over to join them. Ruwee took Leia in his arms.

"They're beautiful Padme, I'm so glad to meet them. Congratulations to both of you," Ruwee said, enamored of his new granddaughter.

Anakin walked over to Padme, and put his arm around her shoulder. Ryoo and Pooja followed him, standing faithfully at the legs of their hero and looking up at him. As he stood there, surrounded by this wonderful and loving family, _his_ family, he felt complete, and knew that his future, finally, was bright and clear.

THE END

**I** hope you enjoyed it! Please let me know… and don't fret, I want to do a sequel when Luke and Leia are around 4, if you all think that would be a good idea, I just have fun with this. Thanks for reading and making me feel happy with the awesome reviews!

-sewardsfolly


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